Coming Undone
by PandoraBlack13
Summary: After a four year long search, the clan believes Brooklyn to be dead. ***WARNING: Rated /18A\ Contains extreme gore and mass amounts of naughty language!*** Consider yourself forewarned.
1. Chapter 1

Coming Undone - Chapter One

By

Disclaimer: I don't own Gargoyles or Ozzy Osborne... Unfortunately.

Be gentle, it's my first time.

June 1st, 2010 - Manhattan

Elisa sat in her dark apartment staring at the TV. She was in a trance, her eyes swolen from the tears and lack of sleep.

A home video of new years eve 2003 played on the television, she must have watched it a thousand times already but it was the only thing that gave her comfort. It brought her back to some of the happiest times of her and her friends lives, before everything went to hell, before he disappeared... before they lost him forever.

Another tear rolled down her cheek as she saw Brooklyn with his arm wrapped around Hudson, laughing, holding up their drinks and signing... or rather, attempting to sing ཁFree Birdཁ. Drunk as they were, it's surprising that the song was even recognizable. Even Goliath had laughed hysterically at their performance that night.

There was a lot of great and funny memories on that home made DVD. Videos from new years eve, Halloween, birthdays and general silly moments. Lex loved that video camera and turned it on at every opportunity. Even though it had sometimes annoyed her when she didn't feel like being filmed, she was now very great full for Lex's obsession otherwise she would never be able to hear his voice or see him alive and well again.

It was hard to believe it had been 4 years since Brooklyn went missing. She remembered the night it happened like it was only an hour ago. Everything was completely normal, or as normal as it could be. Everyone was happy in their own world. No one saw it coming and that in itself ripped at Goliath's mind on a daily basis.

2 weeks ago was the first time they received any evidence that their 4 year long search was at an end. An unmarked package arrived at the eerie building, no return address, no recipients name, not even a postmark. David Xanitos ordered the package be inspected before opening it fearing it was a letter bomb meant for the gargoyles, perhaps from some extremist puritan. It was cleared and opened but the contents of the package were much more disturbing then a bomb.

May 14th, 2010

ཁDear godཀཁ Xanitos' cool demeanor was lost. His face paled and his hands trembled. Even Owen couldn't contain his horror at the sight of the bits of flesh, hair, blood and body parts found in the unmarked package. There was also an envelope containing pictures of a mutilated Brooklyn. He was covered in blood, slouched on a concrete floor, his arms lay limp at his sides making the chains around his rists, essentially pointless. A chain also rapped around his neck, which was the only thing holding his head up. His face slashed to the point of almost being unrecognizable, his chest sunken in and missing skin, his head looked like it had been scalped, his eyes lifeless. He was dead.

ཁOwen, tell Goliath I need to see him immediately ཁ Xanitos ordered after several moments of silent terror. Owen complied as always and slowly made his way out of the office.

Goliath's howls of anguish and anger could be heard for miles upon seeing Brooklyn's remains. The rest of the clan soon joined him in his grief.

3 days later it was decided that they would lay Brooklyn to rest in the garden beside the courtyard. Xanitos speared no expense on the tombstone. The clan, Elisa, Matt, the mutates and even MacBeth all wept at his loss and paid their respects at his grave. No one tried to put on a brave front or said anything stupid like ཁtry to remember the good timesཁ. The point of the funeral was to say goodbye but there was no closure and there wouldn't be until they found out what happened and who to take their revenge on. Everyone knew that this was not one of those times where the law should handle it or where killing them wouldn't bring him back or any of that bullshit. The battle was lost but the war was far from over.

April 19th, 2006

ཁLex, are you seriously telling me that you would rather stay here and sit on your ass playing that stupid online game then go see the prince of darkness himself, Ozzy fucking Osborne?ཁ Brooklyn asked in disbelief.

ཁWe're going on a questཀཁ Lexington whined defensively.

ཁYou need professional help, you know that right?ཁ Brooklyn quipped. Lexington silently retorted by flipping him off.

Brooklyn threw up his hands in defeat. ཁThe hell with you then.ཁ He said smiling and shaking his head as he walked away. He loved his brother but his taste in activities baffled and worried him a bit.

He walked into the library where Broadway, Angela and Goliath were quietly reading. He anounced that he intended to go to the concert tonight and planned on having the time of his life and anyone with any musical taste had better come with him now or forever hold their piece. Goliath smirked but said nothing

ཁThat sounds like a good time to meཀཁ Broadway exclaimed excitedly and got up to join his brother. Angela smiled but declined. She wasn't much for all the loud noise.

Lexington then stomped up to Brooklyn and explained that he blew off his game quest for the concert as he had already promised to go with him.

ཁI hope you're happyཀཁ Lex snapped, trying his best to pretend to be upset.

ཁTrust me, you've made the right choice. While all your geeky online friends are staring at their computers like zombies, you'll be swinging from the rafters at a once in a lifetime show truly livingཀཁ Brooklyn responded with a big, genuine smile on his face.

The trio turned to exit the library and nearly ran Elisa down in their excitement.

ཁWhere are you all off to in such a hurry?ཁ Elisa asked

Brooklyn simply yelled ཁOZZYཀཀཁ, flashed the horns and ran off with Broadway and Lex close behind laughing.

They never made it to the concert. All Lex and Broadway could remember was a bright flash, unknown voices from unseen faces grunting and yelling, inexplicable noises, a loud boom and that was it. Broadway regained consciousness in an upside down dumpster, he found Lex almost a block away hidden in the basement of a building that was still under construction. Brooklyn was nowhere to be found.

June 1st, 2010

Elisa took another sip of her stiff drink. She felt almost numb now. She hadn't gone to the eerie building to see her friends since the funeral, she had to grieve in her own way and right now she preferred that way to be alone.

Goliath watched from the balcony as Lex and Broadway sat silently by Brooklyn's grave. He seldom spoke since the funeral, just wondered around the castle in a quiet rage. It was easier for him to be angry rather then sad. ཁWe will have our revenge.ཁ he thought over and over again. ཁBrooklyn will have his revenge.ཁ

Lexington sat motionless beside Broadway staring at the tombstone. ཁBrooklyn, earthbound angelཁ it read. Simple, to the point and the perfect description. Lex read the words over and over, he was still in shock and unable to accept his brother's death, it just wasn't possible. Like Goliath, he rarely said anything anymore. He even completely abandoned his computer games. But he wasn't angry or depressed, as a matter of fact he didn't feel anything at the moment. Just tired and a little confused, everyone else had given up but he had somehow convinced himself that Brooklyn would eventually come home. He didn't cry at the funeral.

Broadway, however, openly wept. Lex had refused to look at the pictures that came with the package 2 weeks ago but he saw them. He knew.

Every night since the funeral, Broadway brought a boom box out to the grave and played ཁNo More Tearsཁ, Brooklyn's favorite song. But on this night when he came out for his visit he found Lex already there. Lex didn't say anything or move or even acknowledge his presence. Broadway thought maybe Lex was finally coming to terms with things so he sat down beside him and waited. He wanted to be there for his brother when he broke down. But he didn't, so they just sat in silent contemplation.

Hudson and Angela spent their time talking and sharing memories of Brooklyn. It didn't ease the pain or dull the anger but it was a good way to honor their fallen friend.

Xanitos, Fox and Matt weren't that close with Brooklyn but they still felt his loss and offered support where ever they could. Same for the mutates except Maggie who was almost surprisingly emotional at the funeral. She remembered how he was always trying to help her from the moment they met and she usually repaid him with contempt. It really sickened her to think that she never took the time to simply thank him for his sweetness.

May 2nd, 2010 - Alcatraz Island

A tall, silver haired man in a lab coat finished taking pictures of his project. He casually re-checked all the pictures he had shot on his digital camera before exiting the room. The door slammed behind him and the seemingly lifeless form on the floor twitched slightly and moaned as the sedatives started to wear off. He shook his head and spat until the bloody mask that at one point was his real face slid off. Brooklyn slowly opened his eyes and winced at the pain in his head.

"What the hell was that all about?ཁ He slurred

ཁYour friends were getting a little too close for comfort...ཁ A voice replied through a speaker in the corner of the wall. ཁand we're not finished with you yet.ཁ

ཁWhat the fuck more can you possibly do to meཀ?ཁ Brooklyn asked more forcefully as the sedatives were almost out of his system now. He built up quite a tolerance to them over the years.

ཁWhat, you want me to tell you and ruin the surprise?ཁ The speaker buzzed back.

Brooklyn took a shaky breath and closed his eyes. 4 years he'd been at these sadists mercy. He was their science experiment, their plaything. He never would have thought that he would still be alive now when he first awoke in that torture chamber, but somehow he was despite his silent prayers for death. Many times he'd sworn he couldn't take anymore but kept taking it.

Then it hit him. ཁYour friends were getting a little too close for comfort.ཁ It echoed in his mind and he realized, one way or another, this hell was finally coming to an end.

TBC...


	2. Chapter 2

Coming Undone - Chapter 2

By

Disclaimer: I do not own gargoyles or generic mercenaries.

April 19, 2006 - Manhattan

The trio glided through the warm spring air high above the city. The anticipation building as they closed in on central park.

Brooklyn had been looking forward to this show since he heard rumors about it 4 months ago, when it was officially announced he bounced around the castle in a positively giddy mood like a kid that was just told he was going to Disney Land.

Broadway and Lex were excited too but they weren't hardcore fans like Brooklyn.

"Jesus Brook, slow down! We're going to be an hour early as it is. Central park isn't going anywhere." Lex called after Brooklyn who was several yards in front of them.

"If you didn't spend so much time on the computer and more time in the outside world you might not be so slow and outta shape!" He yelled back, slowing down and pulling up next to his brothers. Broadway laughed and Lex smacked him in the shoulder.

"I don't know how you figure you have the right to laugh at anybody else's physique!." Lex sneered at Broadway.

Brooklyn smiled broadly and pulled ahead again. "Come on guys, if we get there early enough we might be able to slip into the VIP section; being that we are sort of celerities around here."

"Yeah, right" Broadway laughed. "Though, I have yet to see any star struck fans asking for your autograph."

"Speaking of autographs, maybe you can get Ozzy to sign your boobs!" Lex joked to Broadway

"Not if Brook get's to him before me, he'll probably offer to suck him off!"

The two gargoyles burst out laughing.

"Hardy, har, har..." Brooklyn shot back sourly.

A black armored truck pulled up and parked in a dark abandoned ally behind a scuzy biker bar that was closed for the night due to the concert. The owners figured there was no point in opening tonight. No one was going to show up. Which made it the perfect base for the upcoming attack.

A large, bald man occupied the drivers seat. He was dressed in black and looked like a professional wrestler. To his right sat a smaller man with long brown hair slicked back in an early nineties style pony tale. They remained motionless, waiting for the word to move.

The trio were closing in on central park and could here the shouts and excited howls of the awaiting fans. The stage lights lit up the sky and spot lights shone brightly from the ground, waving back and forth. Brooklyn felt like he was about to enter into heaven itself, but that feeling was short lived when a bright flash and sparks brought him crashing back down to reality...

Static cackled over the trucks radio. "Targets approaching." The order was given and the trucks occupants spang into action. They jumped out and headed to the allys intersection. The smaller man pointed a flare gun into the air and waited for a visual of his prey. The larger man quickly scanned the area with binoculars to confirm all of his team members were in position, one man on the roof of the bar with a sniper rifle just in case, two men on the roof of the building across the street with tranquilizer guns and another three stationed at the construction site about a block down the street. He then scanned upward and watched for the targets.

Three figures came into view. They weren't gliding too far above the city building. Everything was working out perfectly for the hired mercenaries tonight.

"Get ready." The larger man instructed.

The smaller one complied and adjusted his aim, though it wasn't an exact science with a flare gun.

The figures were approaching the mercenaries desired position. The Large one held up his hand and paused for a moment, waiting.

"Fire."

With a loud crack the flare burst from the gun and headed straight towards it's intended target.

A searing pain engulfed Broadway and then a flash blinded him, he tumbled out of the sky. His grunts and the noise caught the attention of his brothers who were a little ahead of him, they saw him fall and dove after him. Fortunately they reached him before he hit the ground, unfortunately he was too heavy for them to pull up even with their combined strength. Brooklyn and Lex each held onto one of Broadway's arms and clumsily tried to land in the ally but were caught off guard by the two men waiting for them. The large one shot a dart into Lexington, he completely lost control and let his grip on Broadways arm slip causing Brooklyn to veer sharply to the side. He crashed into the brick wall of the side of the bar and lost his grasp on Broadway who slammed into a dumpster with such force that it flipped over on top of him. Brooklyn hit the ground hard and came to a skidded halt next to an unconscious Lexington.

The three men stationed above ground watched carefully as the two on the ground cautiously approached the downed gargoyles, guns fixed and ready to fire at the slightest inclination that something has gone wrong.

Brooklyn was disoriented and in pain but not out like his brothers. He looked around in a daze, trying to put the pieces together. He and Lex were only a few feet behind the dumpster that covered Broadway. His ears perked as he heard movement coming from the other end of the ally. There was trash spread all around and he spotted a discarded hypodermic syringe. As it was the first thing he saw that could be used as a weapon, he reached for it but the movement caught the attention of the the team on the roof. He hard a pop and a tranquilizer dart narrowly missed his neck. He quickly lunged for the needle and jumped back behind the dumpster, which had landed on an angle beside the wall. They were pinned but at least there was a little cover.

The sniper couldn't directly see his victim, the dumpster obscured his view. The angle for the team on the roof across the street was also compromised as long as the gargoyle stayed low and he did.

Brooklyn dragged Lex into the corner beside him and pressed his back against the cold metal. He tried to slow his breathing so that there would be no noise to drown out the footsteps of the mercenaries. Now he just had to wait for his opportunity.

The ground team drew closer, slowly and quietly. Their guns trained on the back corner of the ally where their targets took cover. It was eerily silent which led them to believe their goal was achieved and all the gargoyles had been taken down.

The large one stepped up to the side of the dumpster, stopped and listened for a moment.

Brooklyn tried to focus all his senses as hard as he could, he didn't move, blink or even breath. The syringe clutched tightly in his right hand. If his timing wasn't perfect, their already slim chances would be destroyed.

The large man took one last step.

A leg came into Brooklyn's line of sight and he made his move. He ferociously stabbed his attacker in the upper thigh, tearing open the femoral artery. Blood pumped out and poured onto the ground, his attacker toppled over and Brooklyn snatched the gun from his hand, letting the rest of him fall over in a heap.

The second attacker aimed at Brooklyn and fired but he managed to dodge the dart and fire back. Brooklyn's dart hit square in the chest and the thug fell backwards, smashing his skull into the concrete.

Brooklyn stood up, momentarily forgetting about the dart that had come from above and narrowly missed him earlier. The sharp pain in his shoulder reminded him quickly and he reached around to extract the tranquilizer but found only a bloody mess. He wasn't shot with a dart but a bullet.

"Goddamn it!" He growled.

The sniper saw his shot and took it, it was obvious that all hell was breaking loose beneath him.

Brooklyn ducked back down as he heard more shots ring out. He reached over and pulled the dead body of one of the men to him. With his good shoulder, he held the body infront of himself and Lex as a human shield then stood again.

Loud pops rang through the air as shot after shot was fired from the surrounding roof tops. Brooklyn's shield twitched and spewed fresh blood with every hit.

Though he had taken a bullet in the shoulder, Brooklyn was still able to summon the strength to lift Lex's limp form into his free arm and keep him shielded as well.

He took a split second to contemplate what to do about Broadway. He didn't want to leave him there but what choice did he have. He would have to take his chances, try to get away and hope that the remaining mercenaries would fallow him and not bother with Broadway.

He took once last glance at the dumpster, this was making him sick, but if he didn't get outta there all three of them would be done for.

When bits of flesh from his human shield started to hit the ground with a nauseating 'plop' he knew he was out of time and his attackers weren't letting up. He backed out of the ally, keeping the mutilated body always between himself and the onslaught of bullets and darts.

The team on the roof knew this wasn't working and signaled the sniper to cease fire. They were going to have to go to plan B.

The sniper backed off, he was no longer a part of this mission. The team on the opposite roof packed up their gear and headed for the stairwell. They needed to get to ground level to save the plan.

As soon as the firing stopped Brooklyn tossed the bloody piece of meat that was once human to the ground and ran. He carried Lex in both arms and tried to wake him at the same time. Nothing worked.

He looked back to see if they were being fallowed and feared the worst for Broadway when he realized no one was there. He slowed down and took in his surroundings.

He needed help, that much was obvious. But he couldn't glide with a bum shoulder and Lex's extra weight. Leaving both his brother's behind was not an option... Maybe he could get to central park, there would no doubt be lot's of cops there and he could radio Elisa. It was still a few blocks away so he started running again but soon heard footsteps behind him.

The mercenaries picked up the pursuit and intended to drive the target towards the construction site. So far, plan B was working. It had to work, either they took down the gargoyle or they would be hunted down themselves.

Brooklyn was starting to feel dizzy from blood loss and his arm was going numb. He couldn't run fast enough and carry Lex in the shape he was in. This was unbelievable, it all went down in an instant. He needed more time, he needed to get those assholes off his tail, but how?

Brooklyn spotted the construction site and stopped dead in his tracks. If he could find a spot to safely hide Lex they might have a better chance. He took off towards the site and looked back to see where his assailants were. He wondered briefly why they were no longer shooting at him but it didn't really matter at the time.

One of the men radioed to advise his partners in the site that the target was heading their way and get into position.

"We're ready" was the response.

Brooklyn jumped through the frame of the building and into the basement, he only had a few seconds. He looked around and spotted and open vent that would be just big enough for Lex. He raced towards it and quickly put his brother inside, then grabbed some ply wood and plastic sheets to covered it up.

Brooklyn silently swore to Lex that everything was going to be alright, then took off before anyone saw the hiding place. It wasn't much of a plan but it was all he could come up with at the time.

On his way out of the building he spotter a discarded table saw and snatched it up, greatfull for the good luck.

The plan was simple, wait for the target to pass through the main doors and ambush him with what ever weapons necessary.

Brooklyn did indeed runs through the main doors, but he was ready for them.

They dropped down from the second floor rafters and surrounded him. He started swinging wildly with the table saw, though it was not running it still had potential to do a lot of damage.

The thug that landed directly in front of Brooklyn took a hard hit to the face, blade first. His jaw fractured instantly, blood and teeth spewed from his mouth. The one on his right struck Brooklyn in the back with a club. Brooklyn turned and impaled him in the gut with the saw. The third took the opportunity to bash Brooklyn in the leg with his own club and he fell to his knees. His leg was broken. In a last desperate attempt to ward off his attackers, Brooklyn flung the saw over his head and let go, hurling it straight into the third mans forehead. A sickening crunch was heard as his skull caved in.

For a brief second, Brooklyn thought that he'd done it. He thought that he'd won this unprovoked and un-explained attack. He struggled to pick himself up only to be taken right back down by the tazer wires that hit his chest. He violently convulsed on the ground, he tried to scream, call out for help to anyone who might care but he couldn't even breath let alone make an audible sound.

As his vision clouded and darkness overtook him, his last thoughts were of how he'd failed, he failed to protect his brothers and failed his clan as second in command to only 6 men in an ally. He would never forgive himself.

June 3rd, 2010

Demona thrashed around her mansion in one of her trademark fits of rage. She smashed random objects against the walls, she screamed, cursed and roared.

"Fucking traitorous humans, it never ends!" She howled. It wasn't supposed to be like this, she was betrayed yet again.

Demona had only just learned of Brooklyn's slow and horrid death.

"I'll destroy them all for this, even if it takes another thousand years!"

She fought off the guilt she knew that deep down in the darkest depths of her mind she should be feeling by telling herself the same thing over and over.

"This wasn't the plan... This was never part of the plan... I was betrayed..."

TBC.


	3. Chapter 3

Coming Undone - Chapter 3

By

Author's note: The rating of this story will change from chapter to chapter depending on the mood I'm in. I chose 'M' because there will be some very graphic violence and profanity... Just not in this chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gargoyles, Slipknot, Korn or a playstation 3... Bummer.

June 10th, 2010 - Manhattan

A thunder storm raged over Manhattan. The wind whistled and the lightning crashed, making the castle atop the eerie building shake and vibrate. It was a fitting night for the tasks ahead. Goliath had been putting it off for a over 2 weeks now. Even though his second in command had been buried and everyone, save Lex, had said their goodbye's, it still seemed like this was the step that would really solidify the fact that Brooklyn was gone and never coming back.

He knew he couldn't pass this burden onto anyone else, it was his responsibility. Though Xanitos had offered to take care of the miserable task, Goliath refused. He felt he owed it to Brooklyn to make sure all his personal affects were treated with the utmost care.

Brooklyn wasn't a material obsessed person, but there were treasured mementoes in there that he was very attached to. It's like they were a part of him, the last part of him.

Of course, Brooklyn didn't have a will so Goliath was going to have to go through every artifact, one by one and decide who got which memories.

He stood in front of the closed door to Brooklyn's personal room that was bestowed on him by Xanitos, each of the gargoyles were given a room to call there own space. Even though they had no need for a bedroom, it was a nice gesture by Xanitos to try to make them feel as comfortable as possible.

A poster of one of his favorite bands hung on the outside of the door. Brooklyn's world revolved around music, it was his release, his hiding place. The poster was black with half a green skull peering over top of the letter's that read 'KoRn' in open classic lettering and underneath read 'Bakersfield, CA'.

For the life of him, Goliath could never figure out what Brooklyn saw in this type of music, this "heavy metal", it all just sounded like screaming over noise to him. But it made him happy so he saw no harm in it... Just as long as Brooklyn didn't blast it through out the castle.

He thought of the time that Brooklyn had annoyed Hudson by doing just that to the point where he decided that his only relief would be to smash Brooklyn's stereo as if it were a tool of the Devil.

"My ears are bleeding!" Hudson would complain. Goliath was almost positive that Brooklyn was purposely trying to annoy Hudson that night just to amuse himself. Of course, Xanitos promptly replaced the broken sound system. He enjoyed watching the game of cat and mouse they had developed.

"Hello, Goliath. How are you holding up?"

Goliath snapped back to reality and turned to see Maggie coming up to him, completely drenched.

"Oh, hello Maggie." He replied but didn't answer the question as he felt it was pretty obvious. His usual manners lapsed and he didn't really want to talk so he didn't bother to ask he why she was there or why she was soaked but she told him anyway.

"I was just out for some air then that storm hit and I thought I could wait it out here." Maggie blurted after a long awkward silence. She then turned her attention to the door Goliath was hovering in front of, motionless. The poster was a dead give away. "Is-was this his room?" She stuttered.

"Yes." Goliath answered flatly. She didn't seem to be taking the hint. "I believe Broadway and Angela are in the library if you would like to join them while you are here." He continue.

Maggie stared at the door. "Actually..." She paused for a moment to consider. "I was wondering if I could maybe have a look inside."

"What for?" Goliath asked, becoming irritated. He craved solitude and she wasn't even that close to Brooklyn anyway.

Maggie sighed as if reading his thoughts. "I didn't really get to know Brook very well and I regret that now. I just... I don't know. I supposed it's stupid but, I thought if I could see inside his world a bit... well... I could make up for my mistakes." She wasn't sure on how to verbalize what she really meant, but Goliath seemed to understand.

He knew that Brooklyn had feeling for Maggie, though out of respect he had backed off and pretended like he was completely over her after she had chosen Talon. He had done the same thing for Angela after she chose Broadway, but his infatuation didn't last long with her anyway because he knew they weren't right for each other. Maggie was a different story though. There was something about her that always kept Brooklyn's attention.

Goliath also knew that Brooklyn would have been ecstatic to know that Maggie did seem to care, at least a little. _Better late then never_, he thought.

He took a deep breath and conceded. "Very well."

Maggie stepped closer and joined Goliath in front of the door. They stared at it as if it led to another dimension. Finally, Goliath reached for the door handle, turned it and let it slide open.

May 20th, 2010 - Alcatraz Island

Brooklyn gazed in amazement at himself in the two way mirror on the wall of his concrete cell. He still couldn't believe that the reflection staring back at him was his own.

From the moment he first arrived on that god-forsaken island he became a test subject for everything those twisted "scientist" could come up with. Drugs at first, then they moved up to genetic mutation and then graduated once again into experimental surgeries.

They actually had the nerve to tell him that he should be grateful to them before his first surgery.

"Most people have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for such extensive work." The snide and rather un-attractive anesthesiologist commented while injecting Brooklyn with yet more drugs.

"Yeah, so I guess you're still saving up then." Brooklyn quipped in as harsh a tone as he could manage before going under.

Brooklyn snorted at recalling the remark he made that day. He had become an expert at severely pissing off all the staff, though he was usually punished for it, it was the only thing that gave him the slightest bit of joy for the past four years so it was worth it.

Brooklyn stared into his own eyes, the once vibrant dark blue colouring had paled nearly to white with just a blue tinge.

He ran his hand over the scarring on his right cheek bone left there by the surgeons on a botched attempt at a laser peel, ironically, to remove scarring that had accumulated from the many surgeries.

His face had been completely reconstructed. He looked nothing like his old self. _Evan if I do ever get outta here, no one will recognize me._ He thought glumly. Then shook the thought away as that was not going to help anything. Right now, he had to get back to racking his brain to figure something, anything, out.

_Come on, Brook, focus. There's gotta be something you haven't thought of yet. OK, the only time I get to leave this room is when they decide to cut me open for whatever reason... But they always tranquilize and restrain me first_ _so that ship has sailed._ _But wait, what if they didn't have to do that, what if they felt safe enough to bring me out as is?_

He paced around in a small circle for a minute then sat down in the middle of the back wall and continued to go over the possible scenarios in his head.

He knew that his friends had gotten close enough to scare his captures. Now, how to let them know that they were on the right track.

A plan started to form, one that would probably be his last attempt. He'd tried to escape many times before and always got close but never succeeded.

_If I can't escape... _He thought, _then I'll have to make them let me go..._

June 10th, 2010 - Manhattan

Maggie fallowed Goliath into Brooklyn's room and looked around, taking in the atmosphere. _This has Brooklyn written all over it. _She mused.

There was no bed as there was no need for one but there was a black leather sofa and matching recliner. A glass coffee table sat in front of the couch, on it were several CD's and magazines. A large entertainment unit sat across from the sofa with a wide screen TV, a stereo system and a playstation 3 hooked up to it.

On the opposite walls there were book shelves and a desk with several pieced of paper strewn about.

Maggie walked over and picked up one of the papers. It was a rather morbid, though beautiful drawing of woman with a skull for a face. Brooklyn was a very talented artist and had sketched out quite a few masterpieces. Maggie noticed that there was more artwork hung on the walls and walked up to each one to admire them.

Goliath went to the bookshelf and picked up the black binder on the top shelf. He examined the blank cover for a moment then opened it. Inside was Brooklyn's writing. _I didn't know he kept a journal._ He began to flip through it then abruptly closed it, deciding it was disrespectful to invade Brooklyn's privacy even in death.

Maggie wondered over to the entertainment unit. She glanced at the stereo and wondered what the last CD he listed to was, just out of curiosity. She pushed play without bothering to ask Goliath if he minded, but she didn't think it would bother him and the volume was low enough that he only glanced at her when he heard the music start. Maggie sat down on the sofa and listened. The song played...

_She seemed dressed in all of me  
Stretched across my shame,  
All the torment and the pain  
Leaked through and covered me.  
I'd do anything to have her to myself,  
Just to have her for myself._

Now I don't know what to do,  
I don't know what to do  
When she makes me sad.

She is everything to me,  
The unrequited dream,  
The song that no one sings,  
The unattainable.  
She's a myth that I have to believe in,  
All I need to make it real is one more reason.

I don't know what to do,  
I don't know what to do when she makes me sad.

But I won't let this build up inside of me.  
I won't let this build up inside of me.  
I won't let this build up inside of me.  
I won't let this build up inside of me.

A catch in my throat, choke,  
Torn into pieces, I won't. No.

I don't want to be this but  
I won't let this build up inside of me (won't let this build up inside of me) x4

She isn't real.  
I can't make her real.  
She isn't real.  
I can't make her real. 

At hearing those words, Maggie couldn't stop the tears from escaping her eyes. She put her hand over her mouth to try to hide the sobs and ran out of the room. Goliath watched her leave but did not fallow. She needed to be alone and so did he.

He walked to the stereo and pressed the stop button as the song had gotten to him a little to. The sad melody, the tormented words, it was too much right now.

It took all his will power to focus on the task at hand but it had to be done. Goliath knew that everyone wanted something of Brooklyn's to remember him by and it was cruel to deny them that. So he set about collecting Brooklyn's drawings, books, posters and trinkets.

Maggie ran out of the castle and into the courtyard. The storm raged on and the feel of the rain on her skin was calming. She stopped running and collapsed at Brooklyn's grave. Maggie sniffed and wiped her wet hair off of her face.

She thought of the first time she met Brooklyn. He had risked his and his brother's life to try to help her and she screamed and jerked away when he touched her, though he was only trying to help her dodge the tranquilizer darts. When he came to rescue her that night she called the guards on him. When he brought her to the clock tower to hide her from her captures she ran away. When he told her that Xanitos was dangerous she called him a liar and when Fang took Talon hostage he risked his life to help her again. He was always friendly and warm towards her. She never even so much as thanked him.

"I'm sorry..." she sobbed, looking at his grave. "I was a bitch."

The storm continued.

TBC...

Song: Vermillion part 2 by Slipknot.


	4. Chapter 4

Coming Undone - Chapter 4

By aries jade

Disclaimer: I do not own Gargoyles.

April 20, 2006 - Alcatraz Island

"Make sure those restraints are tight and locked in, our inside sources tell us that this one tends to be... unpredictable."

Brooklyn heard the voice but couldn't place it, it sounded distant. He tried to move but his body didn't seem to want to comply. Was he paralyzed? No... He could still feel his body, he must have been pinned under something. He tried to call out for help, but again, was unsuccessful.

What the hell was going on?

"Brook!"

He turned around and saw Elisa trying to get his attention. He looked around and then down at himself. He was back at the castle, in the library. Everything was as it should be and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Yeah." He answered after assessing his surroundings.

"I said, where are you going?" Elisa repeated.

Brooklyn had to think. Why couldn't he remember? He looked at Lex who was standing beside him, staring blankly at nothing in particular.

"Lex?" When he didn't get a response he snapped his fingers in front of his brother's face. "Lex!" He remained motionless and Brooklyn looked back towards Elisa, but what he saw made him sharply inhale a breath. Her face looked like a smeared paining and she stood as still as a photograph. Brooklyn stared at her, he reached out and gently nudged her shoulder, she wobbled back and forth like a manakin.

"Get one more blood sample"

There was that voice again, it echoed through the library, which was otherwise eerily quiet and surrounded in strangely shaped moving shadows.

He winced as he suddenly felt a sharp prick in his arm. He rubbed at it but felt nothing. Looking back up, Brooklyn saw that he was now alone. It was so quiet.

"Hello?" He called out. No response. The room seemed to be spinning around him. "Hello!" He called out again more forcefully.

"Have the sedatives ready."

The disembodied voice was getting closer and Brooklyn started to panic.

"Hey! What the fuck is this?" He screamed.

"Doctor, he's coming to."

Brooklyn's eyes shot open and darted around the room wildy. He struggled but was held down by steel cuffs around his wrists, ankles and neck. A leather belt was tied tightly around his beak. A light shone down from directly above his head. As his vision cleared and focused through the light he was able to make out 3 men standing around him. He thrashed at his restraints to no avail.

Nausea overtook him and he stilled, trying to calm his breathing. He glared at the man closest to his head.

"I suggest you try to remain calm." The man instructed, flatly.

Brooklyn squeezed his eyes shut then slowly opened them again, his head was throbbing. As he became more and more aware he started to examine his surroundings. It looked like he was in a hospital room, there were surgical instruments on a table to his left. 2 men in lab coats stood behind the table, one gazed at him with a look of fascination, the other was taking notes. The third man, who had told him to calm down was to his right. He seemed to be performing a medical examination on Brooklyn.

He listened to Brooklyn's chest trough his stethoscope then moved on to taking his blood pressure.

"I don't see what good that is going to do, we have no way of knowing what a gargoyles blood pressure is supposed to be at." The man taking notes said to the examiner.

"That's precisely what these tests are for." The examiner replied, in a matter-of-fact tone. "I need to get an idea of his mental state." He continued.

"Looks like he's pissed off to me, doc." The second man retorted.

"Remove his gag." The doctor instructed without looking up.

"That's probably not the best idea." The third man chimed in. "Remember, we're supposed to keep him completely immobilized."

"He's not going to be able to unlock the restraints with his tongue." The doctor said with a sigh.

Brooklyn was almost amused at that remark. He remained still.

The doctor's assistant reached out with shaky hands and slowly undid the buckle around Brooklyn's beak. It fell loose and the assistant quickly pulled his hands away.

Brooklyn opened his mouth and took in a deep breath. "Who the hell are you people?" He asked.

No one answered at first, they all just stared at him in awe, the second assistant frantically wrote down more notes.

"I'll ask the questions here." The doctor advised, stepping a little closer.

"Oh, that was original." Brooklyn whispered to himself.

The doctor pulled a small digital recorder from his pocket, pressed record and spoke into it. "April 20, 2006, 1:42 am. Initial interview of specimen 56. What is your name?" The doctor asked as he held the recorder closer to Brooklyn.

"Eat shit." He replied.

"Specimen is hostile." The doctor continued, unfazed. "How old are you?" He asked and again held the recorder out to Brooklyn.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Brooklyn shouted.

"Interesting." The doctor wasn't discouraged. In fact, Brooklyn's refusal to co-operate only seemed to encourage him. "How do you feel?"

"Like shoving that tape recorder up your ass." Brooklyn replied, annoyed.

"I see and do you recall the events of earlier tonight?"

Brooklyn stopped to think this time, that was a good question. He strained to remember. It was supposed to be a big event, something he was really excited about... Then he thought about the dream he'd had before coming to.

Elisa: "Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

Brooklyn: "OZZY!"

Right! He was on his way to central park to see Ozzy Osborne... And Broadway and Lex were with him. His heart sank at the realization.

"Where are they?" He growled at the doctor.

"They didn't make it." The doctor replied coldly. Though he had no idea who Brooklyn was referring to, he wanted to see his reaction as "they" were obviously important to him from the way he'd asked.

Brooklyn's blood boiled, he clenched his teeth and began to struggle against the restraints again. But this time, with his rage fueling him, he seemed to summon unimaginable strength and the bolts holding the steel cuffs to the surgical table began to give way. He roared as he thrashed about and his eyes glowed lightning white.

"Get the tranquilizers and the muzzle!" The doctor ordered. His assistants scrambled to get the infuriated beast under control.

In a panic, the second assistant grabbed the muzzle and the first dove for the syringe filled with powerful sedatives that lay on the table with the rest of the medical tools while the doctor tried in vain to hold brooklyn down by hand.

Brooklyn finally managed to free his left hand and took the doctor by the throat. He dug his talons deep into his jugular and tore the flesh away. The doctors limbs flailed wildly as blood poured out of him and all over Brooklyn like a thick, red waterfall, he gasped and spit. Brooklyn tossed the doctor like a rag doll across the room with his one arm. He landed hard on the cold floor and lay there, making a gurgling sound and twitching as he died.

His assistants screamed in horror as they watched the blood batch ensue. They were paralyzed with fear.

Brooklyn reached up and tore his neck restraint loose then began to rip at the cuff holding his right wrist. He snarled at the terrified men.

The second assistant dropped the muzzle and bolted from the room. The first seemed to momentarily gather his wits and tried to stab Brooklyn with needle but he caught his arm and roughly twisted it 360 degrees the wrong way. There was a loud snap and the man screamed bloody murder. Brooklyn freed his right arm of the steel cuff and took hold of the assistants shoulder while continuing to pull on his arm. Bones crunched, ligaments tore and flesh peeled as the mans arm separated from his body. Brooklyn held the dismembered limb out in front of the mans face for him to see before carelessly dropping it to the floor and the man passed out. Brooklyn released his shoulder and let him fall to the bloody floor as well.

He quickly went to work on freeing his legs, it didn't take long with the hate fueled adrenalin rushing through his veins.

He leapt from the table and stalked towards the door. It didn't occur to him that there may be more mercenaries outside waiting for him, alerted by the noise and fleeing assistant.

He shoved the door open and continued down the hall.

Now there was a choice to be made, as there were no mercenaries waiting for him, in fact the whole place seemed to be completely deserted. But there was a window to escape through and glide home. Or he could find the ones responsible for his brothers death and make them eat their own hearts. The thought of facing what now remained of his clan and giving them the news of Broadway's and Lex's demise made him cringe. Especially when it was his fault. He was the one who talked them into going out with him, he was the one who had been to distracted to avoid the attack, thus proving he was not fit to be second in command and he was the one who abandoned them, he left them to die.

He could picture the looks on Goliath's and Angela's faces now, disappointment, aguish and rage. The thought made him want to puke.

No, the choice was obvious. Those mother fuckers were going to pay.

Brooklyn turned away from the window and stormed off in the other direction. He ran down the dark hallway and burst through a set of doors that read "Infirmary" which led to a long staircase. At the top of the stairs were another set of doors but they were locked. Brooklyn slammed into them over and over with full force. He finally broke through on his third try and stumbled into a huge cell block. It was cold, dark and appeared to be empty.

Brooklyn looked around and wondered where to search for the assholes in charge. He knew it couldn't have been just the three idiots downstairs that were responsible.

A noise caught his attention, it sounded like a warning growl from a very large predator and it sounded close. Brooklyn cautiously moved towards the sound, it was definitely coming from one of the cells to his right. As his eyes adjusted to the darkness he was able to make out the outline of something moving in the fourth cell down.

Another grunt and heavy breathing came through the rusty bars, Brooklyn inched his way closer, he thought maybe it was another victim of ... who ever had brought him here and most likely needed help. Though it sounded more threatening then scared. But, be that as it may, Brooklyn couldn't just ignore it and be on his way.

"Hey, are you OK?" He asked, almost in a whisper.

The creature shifted and backed further into the darkness of it's chamber.

"It's OK, I'm not going to hurt you." Brooklyn said a little louder and moved closer to the bars. "You can come out." He continued and motioned with his hand to come closer.

The creature growled another warning. Brooklyn stopped to reconsider, maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

At that moment the creature lunged at the him, hitting the bars hard enough to bend them. It roared and lashed out at brooklyn with it's huge claws.

Brooklyn jumped and fell backwards, landing hard on his side. "Jesus christ!" He shouted in shock.

The creature's massive mouth that was lined with razor sharp teeth snapped and drooled as it screeched and thrashed about. It was at least 8 feet tall even though it hunched and had a large hump on it's back. It continued to claw at the bars of it's cell with it's skeleton like hands. It's head was big and round, it had no lips or nose, just two small holes leading to it's nasal cavity. Saliva dripped from it's chin. It's eyes were small and black and focused right on Brooklyn. It's whole body seemed to be devoid of skin, like it had been turned inside out.

Brooklyn gawked at the monster in disbelief, he could see it's veins and muscles shift and twist as it moved around in the cell, desperately trying to find an escape. Then it stopped and just stared at it's potential prey. Letting loose another low growl it slowly crouched down on to the floor and opened it's bear trap like mouth. A long slimy tongue inched it's way out and started to sway back and forth as if it had eyes of it's own. Brooklyn sat up, mouth agape, trying to get a better view of what the creature was doing.

Suddenly, the creatures tongue darted from it's mouth like a toads and shot towards Brooklyn. He rolled out of the way at the last moment, stood up and frantically backed out of the monster's reach. He only stopped when his back collided with the cell bars on the other side of the block. He breathed heavily, nearly to the point of hyper ventilating and watched as the monster withdrew it's tongue and stood back up. It looked disappointed.

Brooklyn let out a long sigh and was just starting to gather hs wits when a hand grabbed hold of his hair from behind. He inhaled sharply and tried to pull away but the hand had a firm grasp.

Brooklyn was able to maneuver enough to turn around so he could see what had hold of him, he screamed at the sight.

It looked like it was once a female gargoyle, but her entire face was covered in puss filled scabs and scarring. There were only gaping holes where her eyes should have been and her naked body was twisted and deformed. Blood spilled from her mouth as she let out a high pitched scream and she tried to pull Brooklyn closer to the bars.

Brooklyn writhed against her grip. He pulled and flailed as he screamed. "Get off me, get the fuck off me!"

Finally, his hair started to rip out of his head and he freed himself from her clutches. He tumbled back down to the floor, but this time he didn't stop to try to assess the situation. Instead he took off full bore down the long corridor.

Deformed limbs shot out at Brooklyn from every passing cell as he whipped by and howls of hunger and pain fallowed him all the way out.

He flew through the doorway without stopping to look at his new surrounding, he just kept running till he reached a dead end. He paced in front of the wall for a moment, looking for another way out. Then he spotted a latter to the right side leading to a small hatch in the ceiling. He began to climb without hesitation and pushed the hatch open. He poked his head through the opening and scanned the area. It looked like a boiler room or something to that effect. Deciding that it was safer then down there he pushed himself up. It was a bit of a struggle as the hatch was built for humans and not to accommodate gargoyles but he managed to squirm through and closed the hatch behind him.

He stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do next and he needed to catch his breath anyway. His mind swam with fear and confusion at what he had just saw.

He thought back to what the doctor had called him. "Specimen 56." He wondered if those creatures in the cell block were specimens one through fifty-five.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of footsteps and voices coming towards him on the other side of the boiler rooms door which was slightly ajar.

He quickly but quietly moved to the door and ducked down behind it, listening for the people to pass by him.

"All units, report to the infirmary! All units to the infirmary!" A voice shouted over the loud speaker and the two men walking past Brooklyn picked up their feet and hurried off without a word.

"I guess someone found the mess I made." Brooklyn thought. He slowly opened the door and checked to see if the coast was clear but quickly ducked back inside when he saw four guards rushing his way. In his haste he knocked over a pipe. He looked back to see if the guards had stopped to check out the noise.

"I'll handle this, you guys get downstairs. Probably just a rat again." One of the guards instructed. Brooklyn moved with stealth and scooped up the pipe he had dropped then hid behind the door.

The guard pushed the door open with his night stick and shone his flashlight inside. He slowly took a step inside and looked around. Not spotting any rats in the immediate vicinity, he withdrew his gun from it's holster and moved into the room.

No sooner did he clear the doorway did Brooklyn jump at him from behind and wrapped the pipe around his neck, he held it tight against the guard, choking him. The guard kicked and clawed at his attacker but it was useless. Then he turned the gun around in his hand and pointed it at the beast.

Brooklyn dropped the man from his death grip and he toppled to the ground just as he was about to fire. The guard dropped the gun and Brooklyn kicked it away from his hand. The man then reached for his night stick and began to swing wildly. Brooklyn blocked the hit with his pipe and then took a swing himself. He nailed the guard in the jaw, dropped the pipe and quickly took hold of the mans adams apple. He pinched the little bulb till he heard a crunch and the guard fell limp.

Brooklyn had hoped to dispatch of the guard faster with less noise but this would do and no one else seemed to have noticed the commotion.

He again peeked his head out the door and this time it looked safe enough to move. He cautiously slipped out of the room and made his way down the hall with his back to the wall. He rounded the corner and there wasn't a soul in sight, but they now would know he was loose and these halls would be flooded with mercenaries soon enough. He would have to hurry this up if he was going to get revenge for his brothers.

"What a mess." A guard commented, looking around the operating room. "How did the specimen get loose?" He asked to no one in particular.

"I told you he could be unpredictable." A man answered from behind him. He stood tall in the doorway, wearing a long white lab coat and a creepy half smirk on his face.

"I bet he's half way back to the main land by now, I think we should abort the project and get the hell outta here before we're all fucked." The guard said sternly.

The man shrugged and ran his fingers through his salt and pepper hair, then casually walked over to the doctors dead body and picked up the digital recorder, which was still recording. "Let's just make sure he's really gone." He said as he rewound the recorder. He pressed play and listened to the events unfold.

"Where are they?" Brooklyn growled.

"They didn't make it." The doctor replied.

A roar was heard fallowed by the doctor and his assistant's screaming. The doctor barked out orders then there were no more words, just hysterical shrieks and loud random noises.

"He's still on the premises." The man informed.

"How do you know?" The guard asked.

"Take every man you've got, spread out and find him. I want him brought back alive." The man ordered, not even acknowledging the question. When the guard hesitated, the man yelled "Now!"

The guard nodded and walked away.

"I can't wait to see the look on your face, Brooklyn." The man mumbled to himself after the guard left.

Brooklyn tore through some paperwork in one of the offices in the building, trying to find some kind of hint to who the mastermind behind all this was. Nothing stood out. There were some notes on "projects" and some pretty gruesome photo's, but they were of no help to him. He growled and tossed the file that he was looking at back onto the desk.

He thought it was strange that no alarm had sounded or anything of that nature. Maybe they just assumed he had fled and were more worried about covering their tracks then bringing him back. How lucky for him.

He was about to trudge back out to the hallway to continue his search, then he realized that the once empty area had silently filled with 20 mercenaries in the 2 minutes that he had his back turned to the door and all their fire arms where pointed straight at him.

"Don't move!" The leader shouted while two men approached with chain cuffs.

Brooklyn stood motionless and counted the men silently. "Hmm, this could be a challenge." He thought. Then reached behind him, grabbed hold of the office chair beside the desk and hurled it at the group without warning. It hit the two with the chains, knocking them back into the mercenarie's leader and his semi-automatic rifle shot off several rounds into his own men. Some men fell to the floor and some scattered.

Brooklyn lunged at the group in a frenzied attack. He slashed one mans face apart with his talons, then grabbed the heads of two different men and smashed them together, their skulls fracturing against each other. He picked up one of the downed guards night sticks and started beating anything that moved, swinging around with every limb like a mad man. One after another, bodies hit the floor with loud thumps.

Gunfire echoed through out the building, Brooklyn dodged and jumped out of the way. He picked up another fallen guards gun and fired back upon the mercenaries. Several more bodies fell to the floor in a pool of blood.

Brooklyn stood up straight and let the gun fall to his side. He looked around. He had taken out all 20 men. A good start to his quest for revenge.

For a moment he actually started to feel some relief. Then a sharp pain struck him in the back and then another. He turned sharply and gasped.

"Sevarious!" He roared before the sedatives began to kick in and he became too disoriented to aim his gun straight.

"Hello again, Brooklyn. So good to see you." Sevarious snarled.

Brooklyn growled in frustration and fell to his knees. He fought with all his will power to stay awake but it was no good. He'd been hit with two horse tranquilizers. Brooklyn dropped the gun and toppled over on to his chest. He struggled hard to crawl towards Sevarious, one claw at a time. He reached the doctors feet and grasped his pant leg.

"I'm going to kill you." He said looking up at the demented doctor then passed out at his feet.

Sevarious smiled widely at the remark. "I look forward to it." He scoffed.

"Holy shit, he got through 20 of our best solders!" One of Sevarious' personal guards gaped in amazement.

"Unpredictable." Was Sevarious's only reply. "From now on, when I give instructions, they are to be fallowed to the letter so we can avoid more incidents like this." He ordered. His personal guard nodded in understanding.

"Clean this mess up and bring samples to my office... Now the real fun begins." With that Sevarious walked away and left Brooklyn unconscious on the floor, covered in blood.

TBC...


	5. Chapter 5

Coming Undone - Chapter 5

By

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Gargoyles

April 1, 2006 - Manhattan

The plan was simple, she couldn't believe she hadn't thought of it before. All these years, all this time wasted. If she couldn't convince the clan that humans are a traitorous, and useless scum of a race then she would just have to prove it to them.

Goliath was a lost cause, his stubbornness knew no bounds. But maybe she could get through to the second in command of the clan. If he saw the light then perhaps he could enlighten the others and maybe they would abandon Goliath to his lonely fantasy land.

Despite the fact that Brooklyn still held a grudge against her, he was more open minded then Goliath and had a temper. In fact, the way Brooklyn held onto grudges would work in her favour.

Finally, they would come home to her. She would at last have her daughter and the rest of her family back. That god-damned detective could keep Goliath for all she cared, he had been tainted by her disgusting human body anyway.

Demona smiled deviously as she double checked all the arrangements she had made. Everything was in place, now all they needed was the opportunity.

Catching him on patrol wasn't really an option as there was no way of knowing what section of the city Brooklyn would choose to occupy, nor was he on any sort of "work schedule". She would also need to catch him without Goliath's company.

She knew that Brooklyn had become quite social with humans since the night he saved all those passengers on a train from going off a cliff. She'd seen him giving interviews on talk shows and pictures of him in the paper and even tabloids. So, obviously her best shot at this would be to ambush him on his way to an event Goliath wouldn't be interested in, but that _he_ couldn't resist.

Ironically, it was Brooklyn himself that gave her that very information. In one of his most recent interviews he mentioned that he would be attending an event called Ozzfest. Demona researched the event and found that it was a large concert showcasing several heavy metal bands. Definitely not Goliath's forte. It was perfect.

April 20, 2007

Everything went beautifully. Brooklyn was now in her possession and the rest of the clan had no way of knowing his whereabouts.

Demona had purchased an isolated, 40 acre lot in the outskirts of Auburn, Pennsylvania. It was small town in the middle of nowhere, the perfect place to avoid unwanted attention.

She spared no expense to build a top notch holding facility for her guest, though the point was not to make sure he was comfortable.

Unfortunately, physical torture would be necessary and destroying his mind would be a must. But, it was for the best in the long run. He would learn to despise humans as she did. He would finally realize the truth.

She didn't think it would take too long before his will was broken and just when he would have outlived his usefulness to his captures, she would be the one to save his life. He would be so great full that his hatred of her would become obsolete and she would help him take back his life.

Demona knew the influence Brooklyn had on his brothers. Even when they were just hatchlings, he had always been the ringleader. She also knew that once Brooklyn had told them of his hellish imprisonment, the anger would open their eyes as well and surely Angela would stand by her mate. If Hudson fallowed suit, great... If not, no big loss.

Demona waited for the call to confirm that Brooklyn had arrived in Pennsylvania as she fantasized about the future that was, perhaps, only a few months away, depending on how long it would take to break Brooklyn's spirit.

She glanced at the clock. It was almost 3am, the confirmation should come through at any minute.

Demona sighed and stood from her desk. The anticipation was making her restless. She stretched and strolled across the room to the cellars entrance. A celebratory glass of wine was in order, not only to congratulate herself but to calm her nerves as well.

She scanned the shelves in her wine cellar. "Damnation - Chateau Roques Mauriac (Special Reserve)**" **She read out loud and smirked. "Perfect." She plucked the bottle from the shelf and headed back upstairs.

She stretched out on the plush lounger and prematurely toasted herself for job well done.

July 8th, 2006

Antoine Sevarious had been looking forward to this day for 9 years. His unjustified imprisonment was finally coming to an end. What rubbish it was that he had been locked up all this time only for furthering science and his amazing discoveries. He _should_ have been awarded the pulitzer! The only thing criminal here was holding back a great mind such as him.

Sevarious stepped inside his long empty home and dropped his suitcase. He took a long deep breath and relished in his freedom.

His house was large, dark and stale. It fit him to a tee. He strode into the dining room and poured himself a small glass of straight scotch, held it up to his nose and inhaled the sweet scent of his favorite poison before indulging.

Just as the cool liquid was about to hit his lips a loud crash like thunder caused him to drop his glass and spin around towards the disturbance.

A robotic monster of some sort had smashed through the doctors ceiling skylight and now stood in the middle of his living room, towering over him with a maniacal smile on it's metal lips.

"What in the name of god are you!" Sevarious shrieked. He was terrified yet fascinated at the same time.

"I'm your new employer." It replied matter-of-factly in a low, snarly tone.

"Oh, wonderful. I haven't even been out of prison for 2 hours and already a job offer." Sevarious quipped.

"I'm not offering, I'm ordering." the metal monster corrected.

"I see." Sevarious replied, submissively. "What sort of work did you have in mind?"

"Don't worry, you're going to love this and it's much more prestigious then mutating homeless humans." It chuckled.

April 20, 2007

Dominique Destine sped wildly down the dusty back road towards Brooklyn's supposed holding facility. She was in a panic as no confirmation was ever received of their arrival. Though she knew Brooklyn had been taken, she was supervising from a safe distance during the battle.

It was now just coming up on 9am and she hadn't been able to make contact with any of her employees on this venture.

As soon as Demona transformed into her human form she chartered a helicopter and headed for Pennsylvania. Now the speedometer needle of the Lamburgini El Diablo she was racing away in was completely buried.

Every possible scenario flooded through her mind, she was trying to find solutions to any problems that may have come up before even confirming that there was a problem.

At last, her property came into view and she slowed slightly, scanning the area. Nothing seemed out of place. In fact nothing had been disturbed at all.

She pulled up to the entrance and cautiously stepped out. It was eerily silent, the only sound was the breeze whistling through the tall grass of the nearby field.

She entered the security code to gain access to the building. The steel door unlocked and she pushed it open, stepping inside.

The building was abandoned, nobody was there nor had _been_ there.

Dominique rushed back to her car, she had to find out what happened and she had to find out who to administer the punishments too.

3 months later...

Every lead had taken Demona to a dead end. Even the bodies of the mercenaries who Brooklyn had killed were missing. She had torn through every employee of Nightstone but couldn't find any evidence of who the traitor might have been.

She considered bringing the rest of the Manhattan clan in on her search but dismissed the idea quickly, obviously she would be held responsible even if she didn't tell them the whole story. Her merely offering to help would be an omission of guilt.

As of now, her search was futile but she knew Brooklyn would resurface... Eventually... Somewhere.

If someone had gone to all the trouble of kidnaping him from her mercenaries then the intent wouldn't be to simply kill him. For now she would just have to keep her eyes and ears fully tuned.

June 1st, 2010

Brooklyn sat cross legged against the back wall of his room rocking back and forth. His facial expression blank, he stared off into space. He hummed a barely audible tune to himself over and over again.

"He hasn't said a word in almost 2 weeks. No threats, no insults, no pleas, nothing." Sevarious informed his employer as they watched their subject through the two way mirror from the observation room.

"Good. Maybe we've finally broken him." The boss responded, dryly.

"_Maybe_ isn't good enough, we need to be positive." Sevarious stated.

"Well, we all know how that can be accomplished so get on with it." It ordered

"Sounds delightful." Sevarious agreed and an evilly smug smile spread across his face.

TBC...


	6. Chapter 6

Coming Undone - Chapter 6

By

Disclaimer: The Gargoyles aren't mine.

July 3rd, 2007 - Alcatraz Island

The air lock on the steel door hissed and clicked, a sure sign of another long, torturous night ahead. Brooklyn tensed at the sound instantly and his eyes flared white.

He was still nauseous from the previous nights experiments. A horrid cocktail of mind altering drugs of some sort had been administered, he only remembered bits and pieces of the hours leading up to now but, unfortunately, the worst of it stuck with him.

July 2nd, 2007

The hot liquid burned his veins as he was injected with a substance labeled as Trioxin. Brooklyn snarled and raged against his restrains though he knew it was useless, they had upgraded the security since his initial attempted escape. Steel cuffs bound him to the examination table by not only his wrists and ankles but by his neck, lower abdomen and chest as well.

His flesh was so hot it felt as though it were melting off his bones, his blood boiled and his skull throbbed. The room began to spin and pulsate.

His screams would have been ear piercing had his mouth not been unable to open due to the muzzle. Instead his verbal expressions of pain came out only as muffled moans and growls to the delight of the surgeons working on him.

Brooklyn began to hyperventilate, the pain was unbearable. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he started convulsing.

"His blood pressure is soaring." One of the assistants informed the room. "And his hearts rate is irregular, he may go into cardiac arrest. We need to counter the Trioxin now or we're gonna lose him."

"No!" Sevarious ordered. "Continue with the experiment, if he dies then he's not strong enough for the very purpose he was brought here for anyway."

"Our employer won't be pleased if his new pet dies before he has a chance to play with him." Another one of Sevarious' assistants protested.

Sevarious fidgeted uncomfortably at the mention of his employer. It was true, if Brooklyn died under his care he would have hell to pay. He sighed and nodded towards the assistant holding a syringe filled with serum Brooklyn so desperately needed. It wasn't an antidote, there wasn't any such drug, but at least they could counter attack the side effects of the Trioxin.

Brooklyn's seizing body stiffened as the serum was administered. His breath caught in his throat and his back arched as much as possible against the restraints. The pain began to subside and he fell limp with exhaustion.

"He's stabilizing." The assistant announced, flatly.

"Stage one is complete. Prepare for stage two." Sevarious said, staring at his subject with disappointment in his eyes. Nothing tore at him more then his work being unfinished and unsatisfied or second guessed.

2 hours later...

Brooklyn awoke to complete darkness. He had been laid out on a cold cement floor, no longer strapped down.

He weakly sat up and tried to focus. Though the pain was gone, he was still dizzy and disoriented. The floor seemed to be moving beneath him and he could have sworn the walls were breathing.

A shuffling noise coming from the far corner of the room caught Brooklyn's attention. He whipped his head around which only worsened his dizziness.

Two glowing yellow eyes peered out at him from the shadows. Brooklyn's hair spiked and all his muscles tensed at the threat. He crouched low to the ground in an attack position, though his movements were clumsy and uncoordinated.

The eyes glided back and forth in the corner leaving a streaking trail of light in their wake. Brooklyn growled a warning towards the unseen threat but it neither backed off nor attacked.

Logically, Brooklyn knew that there was no reason to pick a fight with this creature but he still felt an uncontrollable urge to lunge at it. He began to pace and shift side to side, trying to sort out his thoughts which were violent in nature and confusing.

The glowing eyes stilled and remained motionless as the rouge gargoyle inched closer to it.

Brooklyn's heart raced, the deafening beats echoed through his head. His breath quickened and came out in short, hot spurts. His movements resembled those of a mindless, hungry zombie. His need to spill blood grew stronger and he lost control of himself, all reasoning had vanished.

Brooklyn let out a fierce battle cry and charged forward. He tackled the startled creature hard and immediately started ripping at it's flesh with his talons. The creature squirmed and squealed but did not fight back, it couldn't even if it wanted to. Brooklyn was far to strong and fast to defend itself against.

Unfortunately, the fact that this creature posed no actual threat did nothing to halt Brooklyn's assault. He proceeded to tear his victim to shreds, all the while wondering why he was enjoying it so.

Sevarious and his employer watched the carnage via video surveillance in another room, giant, smug smiles plastered across both their faces.

"He's responding perfectly to the Trioxin. It's exactly what we had hoped for." Sevarious said, cheerfully.

"Don't get to cocky, doctor. The tests aren't complete yet. We both know he's strong willed." The boss warned.

"Why do you always insist on being such a downer?" Sevarious complained. "He's physically stronger, mentally weaker and has an insatiable blood lust, he's the perfect soldier for your mounting army."

"Yes, but I've got plenty of those already, I need a general. Dumb and violent makes a great drone, not a master." It responded.

Sevarious turned back to the screen. "I'm confident that stage three will be just as successful as one and two."

Brooklyn held the limp body of his enemy in the air, blood spilling all over him and howled his victory until the sound of applause distracted him.

He whipped his head around to see that the lights had been turned on outside the cell. He saw two guards standing on the other side of the bars quite pleased with his performance. They cheered and pumped their fists in the air.

Behind them various other creatures paced and scrambled around their cells in a hysterical state. They could smell the blood and were hungry. The entire cell block was pulsing with excitement which brought Brooklyn back to his senses.

With the sudden realization of what had just taken place, he dropped the body in his hands and finally saw what it was. Not a creature, not another of Sevarious' experiments but a human. Brooklyn came to the conclusion that he must have been hallucinating the glowing eyes, another side effect of the drugs that been forced on him, or maybe it was one of the main effects. It didn't matter.

Brooklyn stared down at the lifeless man sprawled out on the floor, he was in pieces, blood painted the walls, floor and ceiling. Then he looked down at himself, he looked like he had been bathed in a tub of blood and entrails.

He raised his shaking hand to his face and stared at it in horror. Innocent blood on his hands. His stomach turned. Acid rose in his throat and he dropped to his knees. He vomited red bile till his insides were completely void of all fluid.

After what seemed like forever, he finally finished and spit out the last of any trace of the mans torn flesh from his mouth. He shook and felt cold sweat all over his body.

Brooklyn glanced at the dead body one last time, went into shock and passed out.

July 3rd, 2007

Brooklyn came too in the early morning hours, the next day. The sun had not risen yet.

When his head finally stopped spinning, he scanned his surroundings and found that he was back in his cold, steel room, alone.

He had been cleaned and laid out on the floor. Dazed, he slowly sat up and rubbed his aching head. Flashing memories of the events earlier in the night shredded his mind. He silently prayed that the whole thing had been a nightmare.

Sevarious' snarly laughter startled Brooklyn, he flinched and turned to glare at him.

"Good morning, my pet." Sevarious said, cheerfully and looked over his notes on a clip board then looked back at Brooklyn. "What an exciting night we've had!" He continued.

Brooklyn had already heard enough, extreme rage boiled inside him, he'd never felt such hatred. He stood and charged Sevarious at light speed but to no avail. The two guards on either side of Sevarious expected him to try something and were ready. They lunged at Brooklyn with cattle prods and shocked him to the ground. They mercilessly continued their onslaught long after he was incapacitated.

Brooklyn writhed and twitched on the floor. He screamed out his pain and rage at the top of his lungs but still the attack went on.

Sevarious giggled at the display.

"Alright, I think that's sufficient." He said and the guards backed off.

Sevarious confidently waltzed over to the still twitching Brooklyn with a smirk on his face.

"I'll come back when you're feeling better and more in the mood for company." He stated, sarcastically. Then turned and left the room, guards close behind. The door locked upon their exit.

Brooklyn breathed heavily, a tear escaped his eye as he curled up on the floor. He remained motionless for hours.

3 hours later...

It had taken some time for Brooklyn's mind to clear enough to realize that the sun must have been up by then.

He slowly lifted his head and looked around as if the answer were written on the walls of his isolation room.

"Doctor, we've had an unexpected development." One of Sevarious' assistants informed him. "You need to come to the observation room."

Brooklyn stood and stumbled to the two way mirror. He gazed at his reflection and saw that not only was he still flesh during day light hours, but his skin and eyes had paled in colour is if he were a walking corpse.

"Incredible, I had no idea that the Trioxin would have such an effect." The boss gaped in aw, watching Brooklyn from the other side of the two way mirror. "It didn't do this to the other subjects."

"No, but we didn't administer such high doses, then counter act them with the other patients either." Sevarious informed his employer. Then picked up the results of the blood tests and looked them over. "It seems his metabolism has been sped up to thrice it's norm." He smiled and returned to the boss' side.

"What a wonderful turn of events. When do we began with stage three?" The employer asked, optimistically.

"Great." Brooklyn thought as he ran his hand down his jaw and inspecting his reflection. "The only break I get away from these assholes is when I turn to stone. They've now officially taken everything away from me."

The now familiar hateful felling began to bubble up inside of him again. He knew that Sevarious was watching him from the other side of the mirror. He pictured him laughing and congratulating himself on a job well done.

Brooklyn trembled with anger and snorted as he ran his razor sharp talon down the mirror, leaving distinguished claw marks in the supposedly unbreakable tempered glass. His eyes glowed a fiercely bright white, resembling still lightning.

"It might be best if we give him some time to cool off before we begin again." Sevarious finally answered his employers question after witnessing Brooklyn's expression of contempt. The boss snickered his response.

5 hours later...

The air lock on the steel door hissed and clicked, a sure sign of another long, torturous night ahead. Brooklyn tensed at the sound instantly and his eyes flared white.

He was still nauseous from the previous nights experiments. A horrid cocktail of mind altering drugs of some sort had been administered, he only remembered bits and pieces of the hours leading up to now but, unfortunately, the worst of it stuck with him.

He tried desperately to banish the image of the man he had brutally murdered from his mind. All be it, he had no control over himself and didn't know what he was doing when he attacked the man, it didn't make him feel any less like a monster.

First his brother's and now that poor, innocent man. He would go to the grave hating himself but he still hated Sevarious more.

"Feeling any more social yet?" Sevarious asked, stepping through the steel door.

Brooklyn bared his long sharp fangs and growled in response.

"Good." He continued. "So sorry that you didn't get to spend your first waking daylight hours outside, but we weren't expecting that effect. Quite a pleasant surprise though." Sevarious smiled and raised his eyebrows as if he were genuinely happy for him.

Brooklyn stood slowly and glared at his captor, but did not advance as it would be pointless. Those same two guards were right beside the doctor and they had far too much fun at his expense earlier. He would not give them that opportunity again. He shifted his gaze to the guard on the left, trying to mentally communicate those thoughts to him. Then returned his eyes to Sevarious.

"You're nothing but a psychotic piece of shit with a lab coat, Antoine. Whatever you do to me, no matter what you've got planned - I promise you, you will suffer far more then I in the end. You can call yourself a doctor or a scientist all you please, it doesn't make it true. You will be the experiment and you will fucking die." Brooklyn snarled.

Sevarious frowned and gritted his teeth but quickly got himself under control. He took a deep breath and turned to the guard on his right.

"Let's prepare for stage three... He's ready." He instructed then abruptly left the room.

Brooklyn sighed as they exited. He couldn't help but be a little pleased with himself. He'd gotten to the doctor and now he knew his weakness.

If he was condemned to hell, at least he could take them all down with him.

TBC...


	7. Chapter 7

Coming Undone

Chapter 7

By Aries Jade

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Authors note: Somewhere in this chapter I've dropped a rather large hint as to whom the employer is. If you think you've found it leave a review. Just for fun.

June 10, 2010 - Manhattan

Maggie lay by Brooklyn's grave in a trance. The tears had ceased but her mind still spun with grief and regret. She started to wonder if there would be any way of ever making things right in her heart or if she was simply going to have to live with this emptiness for the rest of her days.

She sat up and tried to quiet her buzzing head.

Goliath, still in Brooklyn's room was busy rummaging through the scattered papers and unfinished drawings that were strewn about the desk. Angela was to receive the artwork, the many books were going to Broadway, all the games and music were for Lex, Hudson wanted any trinkets and small mementos there were and Goliath was going to divide all his pictures, home videos and anything else amongst himself and Elisa.

That was the original plan anyway. Now that Maggie was showing such remorse, he thought perhaps she would like something of Brooklyn's to remember him by. He was sure Brooklyn would insist on it.

He scanned the room and the fist thing he spotted was Brooklyn's journal. Goliath dismissed it at first, still wanting to respect Brooklyn's privacy. But for some reason, it seemed the perfect idea, after all, Maggie had said she regretted not getting to know Brooklyn while he was alive.

Goliath pondered the idea a little while longer before deciding that it just seemed right. He gathered the slightly tattered book from the shelf and headed in search of the grief stricken mutate.

He didn't have to search long, she had not left the castle as he thought she would have.

Maggie didn't notice Goliath approach. She sat with her knees held tightly to her chest, a blank look in her eyes, lost in her thoughts.

Goliath cleared his throat to draw her attention. Maggie snapped back into reality and looked up. She spotted the book Goliath had clutched in his hands immediately.

"This is... was Brooklyn's journal." He answered her question before she had asked. "Maybe there's a way you can still know him." He continued bluntly, then handed her the book and departed without another word. He wanted to get this over with before he changed his mind.

Maggie held the journal, staring at it as if it were Pandoras box.

She didn't waist any time and dove head first into Brooklyn's written life.

_October 13, 1999_

_The perfect gift, thanks Elisa. Finally, a way to quiet the voices in my head! Ha ha, if they only knew..._

_Well, let's see. It's been a pretty chilled atmosphere lately. Let me re-phrase that, it's been fucking boring around here lately! _

_Broadway and Angela have made the most of this down time though, their constant lovey dovey gushing is enough to make my head explode. Yep, there's nothing quite as sickening as watching my brother make out with a female I consider to be my sister... But maybe I'm just jealous or envious or something along those lines... No, pretty sure I'm just grossed out._

Maggie snickered at that statement. She thought Brooklyn had a thing for Angela and for some reason she felt a little relived that she was wrong about that.

Maggie shook the strange thought from her head and continued reading.

_December 1__st__, 1999_

_Went with Elisa to see the mutates earlier. She was trying to convince Talon to come over for Christmas dinner. I don't know why he's so uneasy about it, his family already knows the whole story. Maybe because it's an official family function. _

_I admit, that will be one weird dinner though. Oh well, whatever. I was more interested in Maggie, as usual. And, as usual, she wasn't the least bit interested in me. I really don't know why I bother. Just a sucker for punishment, I guess. _

Maggie sighed. That did nothing to make her fell better. She closed the book and decided to head back to the labyrinth as she suddenly felt exhausted.

"We'll continue this tomorrow." Maggie absently said in the general direction of Brooklyn's tombstone.

June 3rd, 2010 - Alcatraz Island

Waiting, he waited, he would wait as long as it took. He would starve, he would be exhausted, he would kill, he was going to do anything it took to finally end this.

Roughly 3 years ago Sevarious and company tried to break his will, they tried to turn him into their brain dead drone who's only mission in life was to hate and kill but had deemed the experiment a failure. He considered it a success but he would never let them know that. Though he still thought for himself and was in complete control, he had become so very hateful, angry, vengeful.

Brooklyn thought back to the those months of torture, the hell he endured was unforgivable... and unforgettable.

October 13th, 2006

The all to familiar hissing sound of Brooklyn's solitary confinement cell door unlocking echoed in his ears. He sighed and glared up at his captors from the floor. He was too weak to attack, though the urge was unbearable.

"Good evening, Brooklyn. I trust you slept well." Sevarious said without looking away from his clipboard.

"Yeah, what ever that was that you pumped into the room was a blast. Thanks." He replied, sarcastically.

"Uhuh, nitrous oxide. I thought you might enjoy that. I had hoped it would help you relax a little." Sevarious stated and asked at the same time.

Brooklyn plastered the most obviously fake smile across his face that he could muster.

"I also hoped you might be feeling a little more agreeable." He continued.

Brooklyn took a deep breath and pretended to consider his options though he was just building the tension to make the doctor sweat.

"Well, maybe we could come to some sort of agreement." Brooklyn said cheerfully.

"Really? What did you have in mind?"

"I'll tell you what, you bow down and kiss my ass and I'll kill you quickly rather then slowly and painfully." Brooklyn snarled.

Sevarious promptly lost his smile. " Brooklyn, why do you always insist on doing things the hard way?"

"Go fuck yourself, doctor Giggles." Brooklyn spat at Sevarious.

"I have a feeling that you'll be eating those words soon enough."

Sevarious wrote down some notes on his clipboard and departed. Brooklyn snorted and sat back against the wall.

"It's been months, Sevarious!" The boss slammed his metal fist down on the desk. " I'm growing very tired of your incompetence."

"Brian washing takes time." Sevarious tried to defend himself to no avail. "The subject is responding, just not in the way we had wanted."

"How is that supposed to make me feel better?" He asked in a shrill tone.

"There's still many treatments we haven't tried yet. Look, at the very least we've learned a lot of valuable information and we will find the right method to adjust his attitude... so to speak."

Sevarious pleaded for more time and eventually his employer gave in. He had no emotional attachment to the doctor but he did need him. He needed these experiments to be a success. His future depended on it.

"Get on with it then, doctor. And don't bring me any more excuses." He said coldly.

January 21st, 2007

Sevarious was becoming desperate. Nothing he tried was producing the results his employer required and he had no problem letting the doctor know just how upset he was over it.

Drugs, torture, psychological warfare, he even tried electro shock therapy for good measure and all it seemed to do was fuel Brooklyn's hatred, which would have been a good thing if the hatred wasn't directed at him.

But there was one old stand by that Sevarious had yet to utilize. Mutation. That was his specialty, after all. If he couldn't take control of his mind, perhaps he could genetically change his mind. Though only ten percent of the human brain had been mapped out thus far, if anyone could figure out a gargoyles brain, it was him. He'd already spent enough time studying their genetic make-up.

This had to work.

Brooklyn struggled in horror against the cattle prods at his back shoving him forward. In front of him a hideous mutated creature lunged for him but was held at bay by thick chains that were locked to the brick wall of it's cell.

_Sevarious must be so proud. _Brooklyn though as he stared wide eyed at the monster and tried to fend off the mercenaries behind him.

The object of this game was simply torment with maybe a hint of attempted mind control.

"This ends when you choose, Brooklyn." One of Sevarious' assistants shouted from behind the guards. "Would you rather be this creatures meal or it's master? It's your choice. Just say the word."

Brooklyn refused to dignify that question with an answer, besides, he had more important things to concentrate on then arguing with that asshole.

The guards laughed and cheered as they shocked their victim towards his worst fear come alive.

Brooklyn yelped and jumped forward when one of the cattle prods made contact directly over his spine. But quickly leapt back words when the monster snapped it's huge elongated fangs out at him. It was making a disgusting gurgling sound the entire time, like it was trying to scream but something was caught in it's throat.

It had no eyes, it must have at one point but they were now crusted over so it's head looked more like a bear trap with nostrils.

It had the body of a giant bulldog with ash grey skin and small patches of thin oily black fur.

The mercenaries had slashed Brooklyn across his chest before opening the mutates cell so it would be attracted by the scent of blood. Though it couldn't see, it knew a big meal was right in front of it.

Brooklyn felt pity for this creature even though it was trying to eat him. He could only imagine what it must have been through.

His rage began to grow again. The screaming and shouting of the mercenaries faded out until the noise was just a muffled echo of far away voices. All his surroundings seemed to darken in colour, the creature was swallowed in the looming shadows.

The room started to shake and a low rumble drowned out all other sounds. Brooklyn looked down, he saw the cattle prods making contact with his flesh but he felt no pain. He gazed up at the guards, they were no longer cheering, they now seemed confused and impatient. They thrust the prods at him in a fury but there was no effect.

Brooklyn slowly turned towards them, completely ignoring the monster that he knew was behind him in the darkness somewhere.

He felt like he was moving in slow motion but he was obviously moving quickly enough to catch the mercenaries off guard as they all froze in place.

Brooklyn simply plucked one of the prods out of a guards hands and held it, staring at it like it was a gift from an old friend. He then looked back at the guards and smirked.

Brooklyn extended his arm out and let go of the prod, dropping it to the floor carelessly. Then, at lightning speed he viciously attacked all who stood in front of him.

The mercenaries scrambled, they were not prepared for this. The only thing to do now was to try to get out of the wild beasts path.

Brooklyn clawed at the first thing he saw move, like a maniac. He clutched a man by the throat and squeezed till his eyes and nose bled from a cerebral hemorrhage. He only let his body drop when he heard the crunch of his spinal cord shattering from the pressure.

"GET THE TRANQUILIZERS!" Brooklyn heard someone shout in a panic to his right. He casually walked towards the hysterical scientist and grabbed him by the head. He turned him so they were face to face.

"You're pissing me off." Brooklyn stated flatly. He smashed the doctors head against the brick wall, his skull collapsed. The doctors limp body slid to the floor, twitching.

Brooklyn stared down at his latest kill with an almost loving look on his face until he felt something hit him in the back. It didn't hurt, but the distraction from admiring his work annoyed him. He turned towards the direction from which the offending object would have come and saw frightened wide eyed mercenaries staring at him.

Brooklyn reached around and found what he had been hit with. He ripped the tranquilizer dart out of his shoulder and tossed it to the floor with contempt.

"Shoot him again!" A guard screamed with obvious fear in his shaking voice.

Brooklyn charged forward. Another dart hit him in the chest but still he kept coming.

"AGAIN, AGAIN!" The guard screamed over and over while backing away. But the shooter had to reload and his hands shook with terror.

Brooklyn reached the shooter just as he was closing the barrel of the tranquilizer gun and snatched it out of his unsteady hands. Brooklyn hoisted the guard off the ground by his neck and held him high in the air. He pointed the gun up square between his dangling legs and fired.

"Lead enema." Brooklyn laughed at his prey as he siezured in his hand.

Five more darts hit Brooklyn in the back and he dropped the guard.

"You are all fucking stupid!" He growled at the offenders. But the tranquilizers were finally starting to slow him down. He stumbled forward and tried to focus.

"Don't stop till he go's down!" Sevarious ordered over the loud speaker from his safe position a floor above.

Gunfire hailed through the halls. Brooklyn was hit over and over, he twitched and jerked with each dart. He dropped to his knees and snarled one last time before giving in to the overpowering sedatives.

The mercenaries left alive cautiously approached.

"Jesus christ, 24 darts." One of the guards stated in awe. "That should be enough to kill someone."

Brooklyn's unconscious form lay still on the floor, breathing heavily.

Sevarious watched intently on the monitor from the observation room. Even he was shocked at Brooklyn's raw display of strength, speed and resilience.

"Well, this is unexpected. Maybe we're finally making some progress." The soft yet snide voice of his employer flowed from behind Sevarious.

"Hmph, unpredictable." Sevarious mumbled to himself with bit of amusement.

"What does that mean?" His employer asked.

"Nothing, just musing. Anyway, I wouldn't put too much stock into that outburst as far as the brainwashing is concerned. I would attribute that to the Trioxin and the other experimental drugs I've administered. But don't worry, I've got something extra special planned for tomorrow." Sevarious answered with his usual devious grin.

June 3rd, 2010

Brooklyn remained motionless as Sevarious approached, two guards on either side as usual. They held industrial tranquilizer rifles in a death grip.

The tension was as thick as smog, no one had been able to get that close to the subject while he was conscious and live to tell about it in 3 years.

Sevarious snapped his fingers in front of Brooklyn's face.

"Brook?" He called. He knew Brooklyn hated it when he addressed him as his friends did. But he did nor said nothing. "Is something wrong?" He asked, genuinely confused.

"No, sir." Brooklyn replied in a flat voice. Sevarious flinched at the sound.

"Why haven't you been eating?" Sevarious asked, now even more confused.

"Because you didn't tell me to eat, sir." He replied. Sevarious was speechless. He turned to one of the guards and mumbled an order, never taking his eyes off Brooklyn. The guard promptly rushed from the room but wasn't gone long. He returned with a very rare steak. They always fed him red meat. He handed it to Sevarious who in turn handed it to Brooklyn.

"Take it." He said and Brooklyn complied. "Eat it." Sevarious continued and Brooklyn did so.

Sevarious took a step back and watched his project devour his food as if he were on a mission. A sly grin crept across his face.

"Stop eating." He barked and Brooklyn halted. He didn't even swallow the mouthful he had been chewing. "Finish your food now!" Sevarious ordered and nearly burst out laughing when Brooklyn tore in the remaining steak like a ravenous dog.

He turned to the mirror and smiled at his own reflection and his employer on the other side at the same time. Then looked back at Brooklyn who had long since finished his meal.

"Clean yourself up, you need to be in tip top shape to meet your new leader." Sevarious said as he handed Brooklyn a napkin. Brooklyn again did as he was told. Sevarious couldn't wipe the smile from his face if he wanted to. "Be back in a jiffy." He said and trotted out of the room with a skip in his step.

Brooklyn wanted to vomit as he watched the doctor gleefully depart but he kept his cool. He had been able to master his rage attacks over the years though he never bothered to try to control them before, he knew he could. It was a good thing because the urge to rip that motherfuckers head right from his body was intense. But it would be pointless, he knew. So far the plan was going well.

"Success!" Sevarious howled as he entered the observation room. He kicks up his heals and danced over to where his employer sat. He did not look nearly as pleased as Sevarious. "What is wrong now?" He asked when he got close enough to see the look on his employers cold steel face.

"You're so gullible. Do you really think, after all these years of trying and failing and giving up that he just changed over night?"

"The straw that broke the camels back perhaps." Sevarious answered. "Maybe knowing that his clan thinks he's dead and have stopped looking has finally shot his rebelliousness down."

The boss considered the idea for a moment. "I suppose it's possible. Go ahead with the final test as planned and we'll see."

July 1st 2010 - Manhattan

Captain Chavez entered Elisa's office without knocking and walked up to her desk where she sat, scanning some cold case files.

"Evening, detective. How are you?" She asked.

"Holding in there." Was Elisa's reply.

"Listen, I know it's been a couple months since your friend was confirmed..." She paused, trying to find the delicate words. "Um, deceased. But you still don't seem like your old self and I was thinking that you could use a vacation."

"Not necessary, Captain." Elisa said without looking away from her case files.

"Come on, Elisa. Wouldn't it be nice to relax on a beach for a while and get your head together?" Chavez continued.

"My head is perfectly together." Elisa claimed defensively.

"I didn't mean anything like that, I'm just concerned."

"Well, I said I'm fine. Conversation over." Elisa barked.

"Fine." Chavez conceded. "In that case I've got something I need you and Matt to check out."

Elisa finally looked up from her paperwork.

"Remember back in April when you were sent to California to investigate possible gargoyles sightings?"

Elisa nodded.

"We're still getting reports of inhuman creatures coming from that area and I need you to go back and get to the bottom of it. There's also been reports of suspicious activity on Alcatraz island, might be connected."

"Why can't the California state police handle their own jurisdiction?" Elisa asked coldly.

"Because they don't have a gargoyle task force and aren't prepared for what they might find so they've requested our help." Chavez answered matter-of-factly. "You'll be shipping out tomorrow, better go home and get ready." She said and got up to leave.

"Captain, how long will we be out there?"

"As long as it takes, detective."

Elisa sighed and sat back in her chair. _Goliath will probably want to come along. _She thought. _Better let him know._

TBC...


	8. Chapter 8

Coming Undone

Chapter 8

By Ariesjade

Disclaimer: I don't own gargoyles or trioxin or Alcatraz.

_December 24, 1999_

_We didn't celebrate Christmas back in Scotland. Gargoyles aren't religious, so this is a little strange for us and for myself, especially. Everybody else has a special someone to spend their time with, this being a family holiday and all. _

_Lex, Broadway and I aren't as close as we used to be. Obviously, Broadway wants to be with Angela all the time and I don't blame him. Lex loves to play with Alex. Goliath and Hudson are hanging out with Elisa. And then there's me._

_I heard on the news that suicides increase around the holiday season and I couldn't help but laugh at the irony._

Maggie snickered at that entry_, _she was never a big Christmas fan either. It was only the second night of having possession of Brooklyn's journal and already she found herself entranced, unable to put it down.

Talon was so focused on running the labyrinth that he had a tendency to cast Maggie aside. But she bared him no ill will, she understood that he felt as though it was his duty as a former cop to protect and serve. It made him feel like he was still part of the human race. She never felt ignored or abandoned, just a little lonely. However, she now had something to occupy her interests, at least for the time being.

After Maggie finally excepted the she would never again be human she never looked back and just tried to move forward with her life. All be it, a bazaar life, it was. But not all that bad, she had a new family to replace the one that she left behind in Ohio of whom she never really belonged with anyway.

There were sketches and funny little cartoon drawings randomly scattered through out the pages of his journal. There was one that Maggie found particularly amusing. It was a rough artists rendering of Owen Burnett holding up the severed head of David Xanitos by his ponytail and laughing maniacally. The caption above the drawing read simply _" Sweet vengeance." _

Maggie had considered tearing out the page and plastering it on the wall for all to enjoy but she didn't want to damage Brooklyn's journal, though it was already pretty ratted.

She sighed and continued to read.

March 28th, 2007 - Alcatraz Island

Brooklyn's unconscious form was once again wheeled into the infirmary, his gurney surrounded by heavily armed guards. Sevarious and his fellow twisted scientists fallowed a few feet behind.

Sevarious practically beamed as he retrieved the syringe filled with his latest genetically altering concoction. He looked down at his subject with pride. Though Brooklyn had been pumped full of sedatives, Sevarious knew he wouldn't be down for long, he never was anymore.

He had become so powerful in such little time with minimal effort. This experiment was going far better then he could have imagined, save the minor set back with the failed mind control attempts. But that would be taken care of momentarily.

He was quite confident that his calculations were on target for this particular type of genetic alteration. The mutagen was designed to configure brain chemicals, in a sense robbing Brooklyn of his free will. A drug induced hypnosis since the traditional methods didn't work.

Brooklyn was starting to come to and began to struggle against his restraints on pure instinct. It was now or never.

Sevarious had not had time to test the mutagen on anything or anyone before administering it to Brooklyn as his employer's patients were running thin already. But he was certain this was the answer. Weather his certainty came from confidence or cockiness remained to be seen, but all would reveal itself in little time.

Brooklyn's eyes fluttered open just as Sevarious pierced his vein with the needle. He expected searing pain to overtake him like his experience with the trioxin but instead he only felt a cool sensation travel through his blood, up his arm to his head.

Brooklyn stared at the doctor with both hatred and fear in his eyes, waiting and wondering what sort of torture he was about to endure.

The cooling sensation continued on it's path, traveling down his legs, into his tail and up his spine. Then it hit his chest, his heart. He inhaled a sharp breath and tensed at the sudden jolting feeling.

Ice ran through his veins, his heart felt like it had solidified and his chest felt so heavy it was nearly impossible to breath.

Brooklyn heaved and gasped trying desperately to suck the air into his lungs. But he failed over and over again, only able to inhale his own carbon-dioxide. His eyes darted wildly around the room, searching for a sympathetic face, but as usual found only emotionless onlookers.

Sevarious stood and watched calmly. He expected there to be some sort of physical reaction, so he wasn't concerned when his subject started to hyperventilate. However, he was a little surprised when he saw a thick flow of blood emerge from Brooklyn's agape mouth.

Brooklyn coughed and sputtered then went deathly still as the last of the liters of blood continued to bubble up from his throat. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he lost consciousness.

"Doctor?" One of the assistants inquired as he stepped closer to Sevarious.

"Stay calm." He instructed, lifting his hand in a stopping gesture. "His vital signs are still stable, elevated but stable and the bleeding seems to have subsided. Continue with the experiment."

July 2nd, 2010 - Manhattan.

Goliath glided towards Elisa's apartment. His mood had been slightly lifted by her request to see him. He felt a distance growing between them and the rest of the clan since the funeral. They rarely saw her in the past months and it only made things all the worse. He didn't understand why Elisa felt that distancing herself from them would help.

He landed gracefully on the balcony where Elisa was waiting and greeted her warmly.

"Elisa, it's so good to see you again. We've all missed you very much, I was so excited to receive your message." He said as he grasped her small hands in his giant claws.

"I've missed you too, big guy. How is everyone?" She asked.

Goliath hesitated slightly. "Things are... slowly returning to normal." He stated with a hint of uncertainty.

"Normal?" Elisa mocked him. "I'm not familiar with the term." She said with a half grin.

Goliath smiled in response.

"Goliath, I called you here for a reason." She continued.

"I get the feeling that reason is not for the pleasure of my company as I had hoped." He replied.

"Well, it is. Just not in the _way_ you had hoped." She retorted with a smug smile. "I'm being sent back to California again." Goliath's shoulders slumped and he let out a quiet growl, vocalizing his disapproval. The only thing accomplished on her previous visit to California was getting everyone's hopes up only to have them crushed hard when she came back empty handed. It was only a month later that they learned of Brooklyn's death.

"I know what you're thinking." She went on. "But apparently the reports of strange creatures and suspicious activity is still filing out of the state and this time we even have a starting point in San Francisco rather then trying to pin point complaints from all over the state." She paused and waited for Goliath's response but he only gazed at her in deep thought. "I think you should come with me this time." She blurted out breaking the silence between them.

He pondered her request for a moment. It was a good idea, if there was some sort of danger he would want to be with Elisa and if there were new gargoyles he should be there to meet them and put them at ease.

"Very well, Elisa. When do we leave?"

"ASAP."

Demona listened intently from a safe distance. She was very intrigued at the thought of more unknown gargoyles, strange creature or maybe even, if she was lucky, the son of a bitch that was responsible for Brooklyn's death and there by her betrayer.

Perhaps she would accompany her former lover and his new human whore to San Francisco.

March 29th, 2007 - Alcatraz Island

Brooklyn came to on the cold cell floor. His whole body felt stiff and sore, his neck and chest was covered in dried blood.

He tried to lift himself up but abruptly stopped and fell limp when the pain overtook him. He grunted out his distress, realizing that it was the pain that had awoken him in the first place.

He gritted his teeth and tried to move again but it was useless and he toppled over once more.

He thought that he had experienced the most pain possible when he was injected with the Trioxin, he was wrong.

His bones began to shift under his flesh and his muscles tightened to the point of tearing open. Brooklyn writhed on the floor in agony as his body changed shape. He howled through his gritted teeth until his jaw cracked and fell open and his howls gave way to full force screams.

The commotion in solitary confinement alerted Sevarious and his team. They rushed to the observation room and their employer soon joined them. They watched in shock.

"What is happening, Sevarious!"

"I - I don't know!" Sevarious stammered. "I expected there to be some physical side effects but the serum wasn't designed to mutate his body!"

His employer took Sevarious by his jacket collor and violently turned him so they were face to face. "Well you better figure it out and fix this fuck up before I mutate you!" He shouted.

Sevarious thought fast. "The Trioxin, it must be interacting with the mutagen. Don't worry, I can stop the process."

Brooklyn's face contorted. His skin blistered and split, his bones snapped out of place, then re-set, and the feeling of a thousand pins and needles tore through his wings.

His jaw hung loosely from his face while the top half of his beak retracted into his skull, shoving shards of bone into his brain. His time was running out.

Fortunately, Sevarious burst through the door of Brooklyn's cell, syringe in hand, just in time. He lunged towards Brooklyn and plunged the needle into his back, injecting him with the antidote that would stop the mutation and save his life.

As soon as the antidote entered his system, Brooklyn was released from his torment. He collapsed to the floor, breathing heavily and exhausted. His jaw was still stuck out of joint and his body was mutilated as the mutation process was halted only mid way through. He was a mess of limbs and blood pooled on the floor.

Sevarious jumped up and rushed to Brooklyn's side to check his vitals. He was alive at least.

"Bring a gurney, we need to get him to the infirmary. Prep for surgery, now!" He shouted at the guards standing in the open doorway.

"I sure hope you have a back up plan, doctor." The employer warned. "He's useless to me like this."

"I can fix this." Sevarious stuttered while observing the damage.

"Well, do take the time to be sure you know what you're doing this time. Remember, if he dies, so do you." He stated in a firm condescending tone and left the doctor to his work.

Sevarious sneered at the back of his employers head, then turned back to Brooklyn and sighed.

"I'll need a top notch reconstructive surgeon." He informed one of his assistants who nodded and set to his appointed task.

The gurney was rolled in and Brooklyn was gently placed atop it.

"Everything's ready, doctor."

"Good, quickly now." Sevarious and his entire medical team wheeled their patient into surgery.

TBC...


	9. Chapter 9

Coming Undone

Chapter 9

By Ariesjade

Disclaimer: The gargoyles aren't mine but doctor Anna Sterling is.

**Warning: Character death.**

August 20th, 2009 - Alcatraz Island

"Hasn't this gone far enough, Sevarious? "

"That's a very odd question coming from you." He replied as he went about preparing for the upcoming operation.

"Further surgery isn't necessary and it's diverting valuable time from our real objective."

"And what is our real objective, sir? You had spent years planning this even before you _recruited_ me, stocking the gargoyles, spying on all their friends and enemies, waiting for the perfect opportunity to get your hands on Brooklyn_ - _speaking of which, I can't for the life of me understand why you would choose Brooklyn over Goliath in the first place - and for what! What is the point in raising this quote unquote army? Who are you going to war with?"

Sevarious' employer glared at him, his frustration giving way to full blown rage at this onslaught of questions from this puny human. Much like Demona, he had never cared for the race. They were nothing more then barbaric, thieving and ignorant creatures.

He took a hasty step towards Sevarious, not really sure of how he should punish him. But then he realized it would only be a waist of time. As soon as all this was finished he would thoroughly enjoy slaughtering this idiot.

"Remember your place, doctor." He warned. "I've given you the chance to spend years doing what you love to do... namely conducting hellish experiments on live victims... and remain unmolested all the while. Whatever use I have for them after you've had your fun is none of your concern."

Sevarious nodded in defeat and trudged out of the room to inform the mercenaries that the infirmary was ready. He had better things to do then argue with that steel contraption posing as a living being. Besides, his employer would soon be singing his praises when he saw the end result of all these unnecessary surgeries.

The metal monster returned to his research upon Sevarious' departure. After all these years of not being able to feel a simple touch nor taste a sweet flavour, smell a floral fragrance, whatever else, he would stop at nothing to regain his mortality.

How ironic that he now craved something so seemingly unappealing. But immortality only looks good on paper. He soon came to realize that he would spent eternity alone, untouched and essentially useless. Actually being unable to die was far more terrifying then death itself when he really took the time to think about it logically.

But, it was he who chose this path in the first place, he wanted this body and this life. Unfortunately, he wasn't carful with what he wished for and he did indeed get it.

Of course, simply changing his mind wasn't an option. Especially when he wasn't even completely sure who was responsible for granting his secret desires. He knew there was obviously sorcery involved as well as the gargoyles so logically the gargoyles should be able to lead him to the fey. Now, the odds of Goliath actually agreeing to help was slim to none so he would have to _convince_ him.

That's where Brooklyn came in, the clans second in command who also enjoyed near celebrity status by the Manhattan human population. He truly was an attention whore to anyone willing to give him the time of day... or night, as it were.

He would make the perfect bargaining tool to begin with and then the perfect general for his army that would come in to play a little later down the line when his mortality was restored. Though there was a distinct possibility that he would need to fight a war against the fey to get what he wanted from them. He understood the fey well enough to know that they did not just donate their magic to anyone who requested it on a whim.

Basically, he was prepared to do whatever was necessary in the end.

His anger flared again as he realized how much Brooklyn's appearance had been altered in the time he'd been there. How was he going to convince the clan that he had Brooklyn in order to barter the agreement when the creature in solitary confinement looked nothing like his former self? Then again, perhaps he could leave the convincing to Brooklyn.

He knew the young gargoyles intimately, far better then anyone else knew him. He had seem him from the inside out, heard his thought, witnessed his memories, peered into his soul. That was another reason he had chosen Brooklyn. There was darkness inside him, hate, intelligence and power, though his physique was nothing to be desired. Of course that was several years ago, he had grown quite the bit between their time together and his abduction.

Regardless of whatever snags in his plan had come up or were on the way, he was going to accomplish his goal and that was that.

Sevarious strode confidently down the hall towards the solitary confinement ward. A group of five guards stood against the opposite wall of Brooklyn's cell door, armed to the teeth with modified high power tranquilizer and taser guns.

Sevarious merely nodded in their general direction as he punched the authorization code into the key panel beside the door.

"Evening _doctor_." Brooklyn greeted sarcastically as Sevarious entered his cell. "What's the plan tonight? Chinese water torture, a spanking, or are you just gonna talk me to death?"

Sevarious sighed, he still couldn't believe this creature could be so strong willed after everything he had been put through. Not only had he resisted all the brainwashing techniques known to the western hemisphere but he actually seemed to delight in aggravating the people he should be terrified of.

"It's time for the grand finale in our surgical experiments." He answered, pushing his annoyance aside for the moment.

"You're kidding right? You've already turned me into the gargoyle version of frankenstein." Brooklyn shook his head and took a deep breath. "Seriously, what is the point here? I mean, what is it exactly you're hoping to accomplish? Maybe we could speed things up a bit if let me in on this grand scheme."

Sevarious looked at his subject thoughtfully for a moment before dashing any hopes Brooklyn may have had to the wind. "Stay alive long enough and you might find out."

Brooklyn had endured four major surgeries and two minor ones in the past year. The first to reconnect his jaw which had been badly damaged in the mutation. Unfortunately, the plastic surgeon that was brought in to the perform the correction was so frightened not only of his capture, but of his patient as well, that he botched the surgery to the point of causing more damage then he fixed. He ended up being a failed experiment himself.

The second plastic surgeon brought in, a doctor Anna Sterling, was as mad as Sevarious. They got along famously. She was able to reconnect Brooklyn's jaw but not return it to it's original form. Of course, she had never worked on a gargoyles before, nor had any other doctor in history and considering the fact that the previous surgeon had left Brooklyn's facial bone structure in such a mangled state, she suggested to Sevarious that they simply start over from scratch. It was a dangerous, experimental and painful procedure so naturally, Sevarious was on board from from the beginning.

First, they performed a full facial transplant, using a local male escort as the 'donar'. Sevarious loved the fact that they able to simply put in an order for the victim and, being in San Francisco, nobody would notice the disappearance of one male prostitute.

Second, facial reconstructive surgery to give him more of a 'natural' look as per the employer's instructions, couldn't very well use him as a tool against the gargoyles if he looked like just another one of their monsters.

Third was second reconstruction surgery as Brooklyn was not given the proper amount of time to recover from the first three surgeries so his immune system started to reject the donar flesh. To prevent this from happening again they used metal adamantium to reinforce the bone structure as well as fill in any missing gaps left by his rebellious immune system. Brooklyn was only able to survive this last major surgery thanks to the Trioxin.

The two minor surgeries were skin grafts and lazar scar tissue removal. The latter was not exactly successful and Sevarious found it amusingly ironic that the least important of the medical procedures gave them the most trouble. They moved on without bothering with a second attempt as they had more interesting plans ahead.

The grand finale, as Sevarious put it, involved Brooklyn's wings. They felt he would be a much more efficient fighting machine if he were actually able to fly rather then glide. To do this they would have to expand and tighten the wings, vertically and horizontally, artificially strengthen the back muscles and add two extra digits through the middle. The end result would be much like the mutates' bat wings.

Sevarious opted to achieve this via surgery rather then mutation because, for one, the last attempted mutation didn't go very well and two, it would give doctor Sterling a reason to stick around a little longer and they both liked that idea.

The final procedure was a success.

July 3rd, 2010 - Manhattan

Maggie and Talon soared through the warm night air after seeing Goliath and Elisa off at the castle. Xanatos had arranged for his personal helicopter to transport them to San Francisco.

"Do you think they'll finally find out what happened to Brook in California?" Maggie asked as they flew over the city towards the labyrinth.

"Maggie, they're going there to investigate possible gargoyle sighting, this has nothing to do with Brooklyn." He shouted back over the rush of the wind.

"I know, but it actually could have everything to do with Brooklyn. Think about it, it would be quite the improbable coincidence if it didn't." She shot back.

Talon looked thoughtful for a moment. "Look, I miss Brook as much as you do, but I gotta ask - what is with your obsession with him lately?" He asked hesitantly.

"I don't have an obsession with him, I'm just curious!"

Talon was taken aback by Maggie's defensiveness but refused to let the matter rest. He refused to let there be any secrets in their relationship. It's just the way he was raised. "I'm not gonna freak out on you. Is there something you want to tell me?"

Maggie, on the other hand, liked her privacy and didn't like being forced out into the open when she wasn't ready. Besides, her thoughts were clouded, she was confused about what exactly it was that she was so consumed with. All she knew was that she felt like she had missed out on something when it came to Brooklyn. "Talon, just give me a break."

Talon knew that when she referred to him by his chosen mutate name rather then his human given name that she was not happy, but still he pushed. Truth be told, her infatuation with Brooklyn hadn't gone unnoticed and it was bothering him. He was going to demand an answer if she resisted. "What, were you in love with him or something!" He snarled, his insecurity showing brightly.

"Are you out of your god damn mind?" She shrieked.

Talon couldn't shake the fact that she didn't deny it."If there was something going on between you two then you better come clean or.."

"Or What?"

The two glared at each other in a silent battle of wills. Talon was the first to crack. "Well?" He probed for his answer.

This was the one thing she couldn't stand about him, thankfully, it was rarely an issue. But once it began, it was like trying to swim against white water rapids. She would say something with no intentions of hurting or upsetting him and he would convince himself that she had this big, mystical hidden agenda and there was no convincing him otherwise. He would go off into some paranoid fantasy land and who knows how long it would last. Then, eventually, he would 'forgive' her for whatever he thought she'd done wrong and by that time, Maggie would be so greatfull that the fight was finally over that she wouldn't bother trying to defend herself any further and just let it go.

She had no idea why he was so insecure in their relationship. It was the only matter he ever showed any doubt in. She had asked him once and the only reply she could coax out of him was that he'd been hurt before. She had found it very annoying that he was always trying to get her to open up but refused to himself.

Maggie sighed in frustration. "No, there was nothing going on between Brook and I."

Talon stayed quiet for a moment in contemplation. He could either except that she was just curious about what happened to Brooklyn or... "Do you wish something had happened?"

"You've gotta be fucking joking, Talon!"

"Answer the question!"

"Go to hell!"

As if on que, at that moment a loud crack tore through the night sky and Talon went plummeting to the earth.

Maggie spun around in shock. "Derrick!" She screamed as she dove after him.

Talon tumbled downward at break neck speed. He was out cold and helpless. Maggie rushed after him but would be unable to lift him even if she could catch up. None the less, she continued her decent.

More projectiles shot out from the blackness of the street below, Maggie weaved and dodged them, gaining speed as she did. Finally, she caught up to Talon. Maggie took hold of his limp frame and tried to pull up with all her might. She merely slowed them down.

One final projectile shot out and this time, hit it's mark dead on. It knocked Talon from Maggies grip, then a steel mesh net sprang forth and engulfed her. She was still able to spread her wings just enough to slow her decent. Talon, however, crashed down to the concrete hard. His blood exploded out across the pavement on impact.

Maggie landed with a thump beside him. She lay on her back in a daze trying to figure out what happened until the sound of a muffled cry of pain brought her back to reality.

Pure horror tore through her as she gazed at her mangled lover, lying in a pool of his own blood. He tried to speak but only squeaks escaped his collapsed lungs. He reached a hand out to her and she sat up, desperately struggling against the net the held her prisoner.

"Derrick, hold on." She cried.

His eyes glazed over as he coughed and sputtered, fighting for precious oxygen.

"I got 'em!" Maggie heard someone yell in the distance but she was hardly concerned with that at the moment. She slashed at the net, she screamed and flailed about, she sobbed uncontrollably but she couldn't free herself.

Talon let his arm drop to the pavement and rested his head in the blood pool. "Maggie." He whispered, but she continued to fight. "Maggie." He called out as loud as he could in his state and Maggie stopped struggling to pay attention. "I'm sorry." He said with tears in his eyes.

"No." She cried in response.

"I love you." He breathed as his eyes trailed off.

"No, Derrick don't go." She begged. Talon stilled. There was no response. "Derrick?" Still nothing.

Maggie sniffed and started to struggle again but only for a moment. Then she froze in place, sitting on the ground, encased in her netted cage, staring at her dead lover.

The only sound to penetrate the night were that of approaching foot steps. Maggie remained motionless even as the sounds of the steps came right up to her. A silenced shot rang out and a sharp sting hit her shoulder. She slumped over but didn't let her eyes fall away from Talons body.

Maggie lay on the ground, tears streaking down her face, breathing slowly but heavily, watching her loves body go cold through blurry vision as the darkness overtook her.

"Better bring body too, the doctor will probably find some use for it." Was the last thing she heard before she lost consciousness.

TBC...


	10. Chapter 10

Coming Undone

Chapter 10

By Ariesjade

Disclaimer: I don't own gargoyles or the birdman of alcatraz.

April 30th, 2010 - Alcatraz Island

Brooklyn sat on the cold concrete floor hugging his knees to his chest, trying to keep himself warm. He was completely blanketed in blackness. No light, natural or otherwise, had penetrated these old halls in some time. Shadows seemed to dance around him in the darkness of his dungeon cell.

He had been down there for several days and nights. The approximate amount of time he'd been locked away was impossible to say as there was no way to keep track in constant darkness, but it seemed like about a week so far.

His captors had drug him down there without a word, shoved him into this cell, locked the steel gates and walked back up towards the main floor as if they were simply discarding an old piece of furniture. They only acknowledged his existence at feeding time since then. Other then that, he'd been left to rot down there.

"What news from the main land?" Sevarious asked hopefully.

"The detective hasn't found anything conclusive and it doesn't look like she's interested in us."

Sevarious breathed a cautious sigh of relief and leaned back in his office chair. "That's good news indeed but we need to make sure something like this doesn't interfere with our work again." He thought for a moment then looked towards his new partner in science. "Do we still have..."

"I know exactly what you're thinking." Doctor Sterling cut him off. "Yes, I saved it as a souvenir. It's in the lab on ice." She said with a devious smile.

"Good!" Sevarious exclaimed. "As soon as detective Maza is confirmed to have finally gone back to New York, we'll take some artsy pictures." He said, sarcasm dripping from his lips as he quoted "artsy" with his fingers.

May 1st, 2010

Brooklyn examined the darkness for movement. He had heard voices but didn't recognize them as belonging to any of Sevarious' team. They sounded close but hushed, close enough that he should be able to see who they belonged to.

He strained to make out what the voices were saying but could only pick up the hissing of whispers.

"Hey! What are you hiding for, assholes? Come on out and play with me!" Brooklyn yelled into the blackness, trying to coax his visitors out from where ever they were. He wasn't even able to pinpoint a direction from which the faint noises may be coming from. It almost sounded like they were moving all round him but he chalked that up to an echo.

He moved closer to the bars and took hold of them with both hands. He squinted and thought he saw a shadow dart off to the left.

"Hey!" He called out again, still no reply to him directly but the noises continued. He grumbled to himself and stepped back from the bars but stopped dead in his tracks when a dim flash of light caught his eye.

"What the fuck!" He growled and whipped around to face the strange figure on his right. A thin, pale, bald man stood motionless in his cell. A canary perched on his right shoulder. He seemed to be staring through Brooklyn with his piercing black eyes. He appeared to be wearing a light blue prison issued uniform, an ID number on the upper left side of his shirt read 549 and an eerie glow emanated from him.

A cold chill ran up Brooklyn's spine as he studied the image in front of him. He was entranced, he was speechless and he was very confused.

The man opened his mouth then closed it but no sound escaped his lips.

"What..." Was the only word Brooklyn managed to force from his lungs. His strange visitor tilted his head in a menacing way and moved seamlessly towards the frightened gargoyle prisoner.

Brooklyn's eyes widened as he realized he could see through this bazaar strangers body to make out a misty visual of the brick wall behind him. He desperately wanted to back away from the apparition, hallucination, whatever it was, but he was frozen in place as if his body simply lacked the strength to move no matter how loud his will screamed at it.

The man approached, seemingly glided ever closer and reached his long boney arm out in Brooklyn's direction. His gaze was hypnotic and Brooklyn was helpless to look away.

As the ghostly man extended fingers made contact with Brooklyn's tensed bicep a rush of cold energy ran through him and he sharply exhaled all the oxygen from his body. Black shadows clouded over his white eyes and all the screams of the lost souls of Alcatraz echoed through the dungeon at a deafening decibel. The blood of all of the prisons victims oozed from each brick that made up those unforgiving walls. Brooklyn was soon drowning in the thick crimson fluid but he was completely paralyzed by his visitor's touch so swimming or struggling wasn't an option. Yet he seemed to have forgotten his fears, he felt nothing, numbness, pure indifference.

Their eyes borrowed into each other and a sudden understanding washed over Brooklyn. Finally, he would have his answers and all he had to do was listen.

_They floated trough the dungeon and up towards cell block D. Chaos ruled, the prisoners ran wild through the halls. Fire, blood and bullets rained from the upper level and flooded the floors below but Brooklyn and his guide moved undetected and unmolested as the riot raged around them. _

_Brooklyn glanced to his left and witnessed a stand off taking place between a group of guards and a mass of convicts. It happened in slow motion, he watched the blood spatter fly through the air with every shot fired, limp bodies toppled to the floor, smoke clouded the atmosphere and saliva dripped from a convicts lips as he shouted out his hatred for this place. _

_The pair glided ever further into this earthly hell till they arrived at a grey box on the wall. It was a fuse panel. A small padlock hung open from the latch. There were 18 small switches, one large one that read "master lock" and several small bottons. _

_Brooklyn's guide looked deep into his eyes and pointed to the fuse box but didn't mutter a sound. Brooklyn's eyes shifted from his guide to the panel and back again, he cocked his head to the side in a silent plea for more information. His guide turned his gaze back towards the cell block and Brooklyn fallowed. He watched as the prisoners tore the place apart. _

"_Let them go!"_

_Brooklyn turned back to meet his guides gaze as he emphasized towards the fuse panel. _

"_Free them, free yourself." He said, though his lips didn't move. Brooklyn nodded in agreement though he was still unsure of what he was supposed to do, he knew that the fuse box was an important part of it. _

_The guide lowered his arm and grinned wickedly. The canary on his arm suddenly took flight. It fluttered around Brooklyn's head, molting it's feathers all around. Brooklyn tried to blow the feathers out of his face but the bird persisted. It's incessant chirping drilled through Brooklyn's head and he gave up on trying to swat away the onslaught of feathers so that he could cover his ears but the bird wouldn't relent. Brooklyn squeezed his eyes shut to try to dull the senses. He felt faint and overwhelmed, all his fears and doubts returned like a whirlwind. The dizzying situation got the best of him and he fell to the floor. Silence. _

May 2nd, 2010

A clicking sound was disturbing him from his slumber and a flashing light burned his eyelids. Something soft, wet and cold covered his face. He slowly opened his eyes to darkness. He tried to free himself from the full face blindfold but his arms felt too heavy. His senses came back and it finally dawned on him. Yep, he'd been drugged and chained up again.

The clicking had stopped, now he heard footsteps and then the door slam. He shook his head and spat until whatever it was that covered his face slid off and fell into his lap. Brooklyn almost gagged when he realized what it was. _The freaks actually saved my face? _He thought.

"What the hell was that all about!" He yelled at the empty room.

"Your friends were getting a little to close for comfort." Came Sevarious' snide voice over the intercom. "And we're not finished with you yet."

"What the fuck more can you possibly do to meཀ?"

"What, you want me to tell you and ruin the surprise?"

Sevarious left Brooklyn to his thoughts and went about putting together a special package for the gargoyles.

"You've got to be more cautious with how you dispose of your experiments from now on, Sevarious." The employers voice slithered through the room. "You almost got us caught."

"Don't worry your big robotic head, this care package will distract the good detective and company at least long enough for us to finish here. Besides, we got the beast back."

"It shouldn't have been let go in the first place."

"I didn't let it go, it appeared to be dead. It had no pulse, it wasn't breathing and it didn't react when we tried to feed it so I had it disposed of in the ocean as usual."

"From now on all bodies are to cremated... Just to make sure." The employer ordered.

July 5th, 2010

Maggie awoke screaming as she relived her lover's death over and over again in her nightmares. She trembled uncontrollably and hyperventilated on the cold cement floor as she looked for any signs of life. She found only solitude and muffled, indistinguishable sounds coming from another area until the creek of a large door opening caught her attention. Foot steps approached in a confident stride. Maggies breath quickened even more as she slid back up against the wall as far as far as she could go in terrifying anticipation.

"Hello Maggie, it's been a long time, hasn't it?" Sevarious snarled.

"No..." Maggie sobbed, shaking her head.

"How have you been? How's Derrick?" He continued with a merciless grin.

Maggie began to shake violently at the realization of what was happening. She let out a piercing shriek that echoed all throughout the building in response to her captors questioning.

Brooklyn heard the screaming in his cell. He recognized the voice immediately.

Sevarious faked shock at Maggies outburst. "Oh my dear, easy... save some energy, the fun hasn't even began yet. We've got a big surprise for you. I think you're gonna love it!" He said, smiling and clasping his hands together.

Maggie dropped to the floor and cried. Choking, sobbing and screaming.

TBC...


	11. Chapter 11

Coming Undone

Chapter 11

By Ariesjade

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

A/N: Sorry for the delay, I haven't had a lot of time to focus on my work lately and, ironically, I've started a second project as well so be patient with me. I promise to see this through to the end.

July 5th, 2010 - San Francisco

Elisa strained her eyes trying to convince herself that what she was seeing on the grainy surveillance footage wasn't possible. Then again, she used to think a lot of things weren't possible and had been proven wrong many times over.

Her jaw hung loosely as she watched the gruesome scene play out on screen.

"What is it?" She asked in awe.

"We were hoping you could tell us." The portly lead detective that sat beside her replied, slightly disappointed.

"I've never seen anything like it." She stated, never taking her eyes off the monitor.

The creature ripped into it's victim and retrieved two more fist fulls of flesh to devour. It was a particularly ugly beast and that was saying something considering what she had seen in her time. The small details were hard to make out on the low quality tape, not that Elisa wanted a better look at the carnage, but she took in everything she could. It would be necessary to catch and stop the monstrosity.

Thick strings of blood red saliva dripped from it's ragged teeth as it chomped down on it's meals jugular. Slimy, blistered scales covered it's deformed reptilian body.

"It's definitely not a gargoyle." Elisa blurted out mildly startling detective Ryan as she finished her silent analysis.

"Yes... it is." Goliaths normally booming voice half whispered from the back of the room.

"What?" Elisa turned to him in shock.

"Or, at least, it used to be a gargoyle." He continued as he stepped forward and pointed to the screen. "Look closer, the scars in it's back... It's wings have been amputated and there, it's horns have been severed. Look at the muscular structure and it's face..." He trailed off.

Ryan shifted uncomfortably at Goliath's side.

"What the hell happened to it?" Elisa gasped.

"I don't know. But we must find out!" His anger boiled and Elisa intuitively picked up on Goliath's train of thought. "It's still early in the night, I'm going to patrol the city." He stated and started towards the window.

"Goliath, wait a minute. You don't know San Francisco and I'm not all that familiar with it either. What if something happens, what if that thing shows up again?" Elisa called after him.

"Let us hope it does." He grumbled.

Elisa started after him and reached out, she gently laid her small hand on his massive shoulder. He stopped and turned to face her.

"Listen, I know what you're thinking, but that thing is dangerous and I highly doubt it would take kindly to being interrogated. Let's try to approach this logically, going on a rampage through the city isn't going to help anything."

Goliath considered her words for a moment and then relented. "We will keep in radio contact and if I spot that... creature... I'll call for you. Getting a birds eye view of the city is as _logical_ a place to start as any."

Elisa smirked at him and let go of his arm. "Just promise not to try to take on that thing by your self." She raised her eyebrows in a silent plea.

"Very well." Goliath sighed, stepping out onto the fire escape. Elisa watched as he spread his wings and leapt into the night sky. She then turned back to the visibly sketched out detective Ryan. "Do we have any other leads?" She asked.

"Um... Well, some tourists that were out on they're party boat around 2am a few weeks ago reported seeing strange activity over on Alcatraz island."

"Strange how?"

"They said they saw two guys throwing a large... something... off the pier into the water and there was a lot of dark smoke coming from the chimney." He stated.

Elisa rolled her eyes at the lack of detail. "And?"

"Well, we didn't really get into it because the tourists were admittedly, and I quote 'tanked' when they saw all this. Besides, people are always claiming ridiculous shit about that island. It's rumored to be haunted so the fun never stops." He shrugged his shoulders and sighed. "Then, of course, that thing emerges from the depths of hell and we're just not trained for this sort of thing."

Elisa mock nodded and let out a long breath. "Guess we might wanna look into those claims after all, huh."

"Yeah... I'll get the file." Ryan agreed, trying and failing miserably to hide his embarrassment.

Goliath hastily glided through the humid summer night air, carefully scanning every crevice, every dark alley and every shadowy corner he could see from his position. Despite his promise to Elisa, he was determined to find the murderous beast on that tape. He desperately tried to push away the thought that this creature may somehow be connected to Brooklyn, or that it might have _been _Brooklyn.

"No!" He scolded himself out loud for even thinking something so ludicrous. But still the thought tormented him. The idea that Brooklyn may have suffered such a sickening fate only fueled his determination. This couldn't just be a coincidence, it was too bazaar.

Back at the station, Elisa and detective Ryan scanned through file after file in relation to the case including the reports filed that Elisa had previously been sent to investigate.

"Sightings of large winged creatures... body parts washing up on shore... chemicals detected in the bay included embalming fluid, scopolamine and unknown substance... weird." Ryan read out loud to himself as he went over the findings.

"Well, it's obvious that all of this centers around Alcatraz island." Elisa stated, never taking her eyes away from the page she was engrossed in.

"That doesn't make any sense, Alcatraz has been closed to the public for years." Ryan responded.

"Actually, that makes perfect sense. It would be the ideal place to run some sort of illegal operation because of that fact. We need to get a team out there."

"In order to do that we'd have to get permission from the state and in order to do that we'd have to get a warrant and in order to do that we'll need more then circumstantial evidence. All we've got right now is testimony from from drunken tourists in relation to Alcatraz island."

"Circumstantial!" Elisa bellowed in frustration.

"There's nothing here that points directly to Alcatraz." Ryan cut her off. "If anything, it's more based around the shoreline. Maybe one of the warehouses out there or.."

"Oh bullshit!" Elisa cut in this time. "Are you incredibly lazy or are you just that thick headed!" She shouted. She, as Goliath, had a feeling that all this had something to do with Brooklyn and she wasn't going to let some petty paperwork get in her way of finding out what.

Ryan bolted out of his seat as fast as he could lift his hefty ass. "Listen lady, Alcatraz is a disaster waiting to happen! The whole building's on it's last legs and the island itself is dissolving into the bay. They closed that shithole down for a reason and I'm sure as hell not sending my men out to that death trap without solid, concrete reason! Now, I don't know why you're so obsessed with this but..."

"You called me out here!" She shrieked

"...But... " He continued despite her outburst. "You have had experience with this sort of thing before. So if you want to go out there and check things out then I'll look the other way and when you're satisfied maybe we can get back to the real issue of that creature."

Elisa considered her options. She could either ignore her instincts and focus on the task at hand, which never turned out well in the past so was probably a bad idea, she could continue to fight for a team to go out and investigate the island which would most likely just be a waist of time or she and Goliath could take matters into their own hands.

"Fine, we'll head out first thing tomorrow night. In the meantime we'll deal with the monster." She relented.

"Thank you." Ryan through his arms in the air and plummeted back down to his seat. "But if you two get hurt or whatever out there, it's not my problem."

Elisa didn't answer, she had already buried her nose into a another file folder. It was a good way to end the conversation as she had more important things to do then waist her breath on that ignoramus.

Goliath was just finishing up his arial tour of San Francisco when he noticed that all too familiar glint in the sky signaling sunrise. He had wondered far from the station and suddenly realized he wasn't entirely sure of the way back. He made a mental note not to mention that little detail to Elisa as she would never let him live it down and landed on a near by rooftop.

"Elisa, can you hear me?" He spoke into his radio transmitter. There was no response. "Elisa?" Still nothing. He was out of range. "A true scientific wonder." He mumbled sarcastically to himself and tucked the radio away in his belt.

Considering he didn't have many options, Goliath decided this was as good a place as any to roost for the day and was about to take his usual position when he noticed something off in the distance. A large ball of flames shot up into the sky lighting it up like a solar flare. Goliath focused his eyes hard, trying to identify the problem area. It must have been coming from an island out in the bay. He wasn't familiar with any islands in this area. Then again, he wasn't familiar with anything in this area.

It was too late to head out towards the island now. He'd have to wait till nightfall. Goliath decided not to inform Elisa, he would be able to glide out a lot faster without her and he didn't want to drag her away from the immediate problems in the city if this wasn't anything to be concerned about in the first place.

_It won't take long. _He thought. _Just a quick glide over to assess the situation and if it's worth pursuing then I'll get Elisa, she might be annoyed at first but she'll get over it._

The sun rose and Goliath transformed into his petrified state, eyes still glued to the island in the distance.

TBC...


	12. Chapter 12

Coming Undone

Chapter 12

By Ariesjade

Disclaimer: I don't own gargoyles but I like to play with them anyway.

July 6th, 2010 - San Francisco

Goliath roared to life, bursting from his stone shell and carelessly shedding concrete shards into the streets below. He quickly got down to business, scanning the bay to confirm the location of the island. Upon spotting his destination, he leapt from the buildings rooftop and into the warm night air.

Alcatraz Island

Brooklyn froze when he heard the door to his cell unlock from the outside and bit down on his own tongue as Sevarious danced into the room in order to keep himself under control. He had wondered if he'd hallucinated the phantom screams of the previous night but that voice was all too familiar to dismiss.

"Good evening!" The demented doctor greeted over enthusiastically. He then waited for Brooklyn's mandatory response.

"Good evening." Brooklyn vomited up the words through clenched teeth.

"And how are we feeling tonight?" Sevarious asked with a devious smile. The twisted look in his eyes told Brooklyn that his fears were most likely confirmed. That same look always accompanied something deranged.

"Wonderful, sir." He forced out.

"Excellent!" Sevarious exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "I'm doing quite well myself, especially tonight. I have a gift for, isn't that exciting?"

Brooklyn raised his eye ridge but just couldn't force himself to smile through his rage, no matter how obviously fake it would be. "What sort of gift?"

The doctor thought a moment before a suitable explanation came to mind. "It's something you've been dreaming of for years." He purred. "Come, we've all been waiting a long time for this, no point in dragging this out any longer."

"Let me out you fucking psycho!" Maggie shrieked as she clawed and ripped at the re-enforced bullet proof glass of her specially made cell with bloodied hands from relentlessly pounding on the walls around her for the entire night.

"Damn girl, will you chill the fuck out!" The guard assigned the keep an eye on her shouted s he had grown very tired of her hysterical crying.

"I will gladly chill the fuck out when you open this god damn door and let me go!" She retorted in a cracked, horse voice.

"Gotta admire her spirit." Another guard chimed in as he approached from down the dark hallway of cell block D.

"Holy shit, it's about time. This one's even worse then the doc's pet." Maggie's guard exclaimed.

"I doubt that, being that you're still alive and all. The other one would have found a way to kill you by now." The second guard snickered.

"Yeah, well she sure as hell has a bigger mouth. Hasn't shut up all night."

"You just gotta learn some better negotiation skills." He said sarcastically as he strolled over to the control panel beside Maggies cell and placed his fat finger over a particular button. She watched him through teary eyes and crouched low, preparing for a physical confrontation. Instead, the guard looked her up and down then let a power-happy smirk creep over his face. "Listen sweetie, either you start behaving and treating us with the respect we deserve or we're gonna have to start disciplining you..." He said shaking his head as a parent talking to a misbehaving child would.

"Fuck you!" Maggie cried, trying and failing miserably to sound tough.

The guard laughed. "Yeah, that's what they all say." He snickered as he pressed the button he was fingering, sending surges of electricity through Maggies cell. She screamed out in shock and twitched to the floor where she continued to convulse until the guard had his fill. "Tisk, tisk, tisk..." He mocked and finally let go of the button.

Maggie coughed and spurted as she lay incapacitated and defenseless.

The second guard strutted back over to join the first who was now sporting an immovable smile. "Don't worry, the doc is on his way down with his pet as we speak. The little minx here will be torn into itty bitty little pieces within the hour." He said without even a hint of emotion as he gestured to the sobbing mutate.

Though she was in incredible pain and very disoriented, she heard every word the guard said. She wondered who or what was being brought to kill her and why Sevarious wanted her dead after all this time.

Maggie wrapped her arms around herself and tried to calm her trembling. It wouldn't be long now.

Goliath landed in stealth on the outskirts of the island. He carefully made his way towards the main building, taking note of several trailers lined up outside in the yard. But it was the shear number of roaming guards carrying heavy artillery that peaked his curiosity. He snuck closer but stayed in the shadows and waited, hoping to gather some information from the guards inane chatter.

"So, have you heard anything about when this job is gonna end?"

"No, nothing solid, only rumors. I've been here for over four years now and they told me this would all be done and over with in 6 months to a year at most."

"Hey, it could be worse. A lot of blood has been spilled on this job."

"Yeah, a lot of blood, guts and random body parts!" One of the mercenaries laughed and gestured towards the main door. "Thank fucking god we weren't assigned to monster duty."

Goliath grimaced at the last comment, there was definitely something going on here worth checking into further. He was about to turn back to fulfill his promise to himself to collect Elisa if there was something to this place but stopped short when he heard the name **Sevarious** come up in the continuing conversation between the guards.

"I know, doctor Sevarious should change his name to Frankenstein."

"Oh! Have you seen his pet recently?"

"Yes, that's just fucked up. Sometimes I actually feel a little sorry that poor basturd."

"And that is exactly _why_ we're not on monster duty. Better not let anyone else know that, the boss will feed you to the failed experiments."

The guard nodded in defeat at his comrade.

Goliath had heard enough, he didn't have time to double back for Elisa, chances are he was already too late to save whatever poor soul Sevarious had chosen for his latest victim. Regardless of the hour, however, Goliath was determined to get to the bottom of this.

It would be useless to attack the group of guards outside the main door directly. There were enough of them to cause plenty of ruckus on their own, never mind the small arsenal they carried with them and such noise would definitely alert more to his presence. This was such a case where the element of surprise was crucial, so he bided his time. One of those mercenaries was bound to stray from the group sooner or later and then he would make his move.

It didn't take long...

"I gotta go drain the snake." One of the group announced to his peers. Goliath smile a mischievous smile and sneakily fallowed behind the stray.

The unlucky man strolled away from the pack in search of solitude. He spotted a dark corner that would suffice and made his way over to do his business.

Goliath watched from the shadows as his prey casually undid his zipper. It was too perfect. He leapt from his position, landing only a foot directly behind his victim, reached out and clasped his massive hand over the guards face mid stream.

The guard yelped but no sound escaped from Goliath's tight grasp. He lifted the man off the ground and turned him around to face him. The guards eyes nearly popped out of his head upon the sight of his attacker and urine trickled down the front of his pants.

Goliath noted the splash of the hot liquid hitting the dirt and smirked at the terrified human.

"So," Goliath grumbled. "tell me more about these monsters..."

The clicking of hard soul shoes echoed through the halls of cell block D, riling up the many creatures in their cages and startling Maggie back to her senses. She collected herself and stood up as fast as she could in her condition.

Sevarious' long strides oozed confidence, his nose pointed high in the air. Brooklyn fallowed close behind, shooting daggers from his eyes into the doctors back. How he wished looks really could kill at that moment.

As always, two lines of seven mercenaries each marched along side of the doctor and his favorite experiment, automatic rifles clutched firmly in hand.

Maggie looked past Sevarious to study her approaching murderer. He was obviously a gargoyle, big, only slightly smaller then Goliath. He hunched as he walked, letting shoulder length shaggy silver hair drape over his face, only his eerily white eyes were visible. His skin was a pale red, it looked faded, but still distinctly red. He was dressed in loose fitting charcoal coloured denim pants and shackles. His body language was defiant but broken.

"Hello again, miss Reed!" Sevarious cheered. Maggie flinched at the sound of his voice, she had been so engrossed in her studies that she hadn't noticed his arrival. "I hope you're feeling a little more chatty then you were last night because I've brought you a visitor." He continued, gesturing to the gargoyle behind him who seemed to be as entranced by her as she was by him.

When Maggie didn't respond Sevarious snickered. "Don't recognize him?" He asked as he shifted his gaze back and forth between Maggie and Brooklyn.

She furrowed her eyebrows but couldn't get a good look at his face through the thick blanket of hair.

"Well, that's not surprising." Sevarious went on, not missing a beat. "He's had quite a bit of work done." He whispered to Maggie as if he were sharing a government secret. Brooklyn just couldn't suppress the glare that burned from his eyes, luckily Sevarious didn't notice but Maggie did.

"Open the door." Sevarious ordered and Maggies guard quickly shuffled over to the control panel. "It's been a long time, our guests need to get re-acquainted."

Maggie backed away as the glass door slid open and Sevarious entered. She lifted her taloned hand in the air and it lit up with an electric charge in a silent threat.

"No, no, take it easy tiger." Sevarious held up his hand in mock defense then turned to Brooklyn and motioned for him to join them in the glass cell. He reluctantly complied.

"Come on now, stand up straight. You should be ecstatic, not all hunched over, who are you hiding from? And get that hair out of your face." Sevarious fussed like an overbearing mother. It was all part of the fun for him. He brushed the hair out of his pets face and Brooklyn had to fight the urge to bite into his hand with his razor sharp teeth, rip it from his arm and use it to smack the doctor across the face with. Instead he just clenched his jaw and held his breath as Sevarious revealed his face to Maggie.

She inhaled sharply as she stared into Brooklyns now unobstructed incredibly bright blue eyes. Never losing her defensive stance, she let her eyes trace his face, taking in every detail as she was, apparently, supposed to know him.

His face was human like but somehow not, his jaw looked like it had been chiseled out of stone, his skins pigment was slightly off, paler then the rest of him and had an almost plastic like texture to it. His mouth was widely pronounced and looked as though his teeth were just a bit too big, pushing his lips outward. His nose was long and narrow but still in proportion. His left cheek was covered in what looked like burn scars that spread from eyebrow to just above the jaw line.

"Still nothing?" Sevarious interrupted Maggies inspection, growing impatient.

Maggie blinked and shook her head. A wave of disappointment washed over Brooklyn. Though he had expected this type of reaction, he still wasn't prepared for it. His gaze fell to the floor, looking her in the eyes became too painful in an instant.

Sevarious couldn't stand the suspense any longer, he wanted her to know what he'd done, he wanted the pain of her death to be all the worse for it was a friend taking her life and he wanted Brooklyn to hear her beg and call his name as he tore her apart. It was the only way his employer would be convinced that they had finally succeeded.

"That's OK, this wasn't a test." He said with a sparkle in his eyes. "Maggie Reed, allow me to re-introduce you to the new and improved... Brooklyn!"

Maggie started shaking her head and shifting from side to side, she took deep hard breaths and clutched at her hair in disbelief. She looked from Brooklyn, who remained motionless and still kept his eyes glued to the floor, then to Sevarious who seemed to be absolutely giddy, then back and forth again.

Without a word, Maggie gritted her teeth and leapt at Sevarious like a wild animal. She shot out her home made bolts of lightning, hitting him square in the chest then tackled him to the ground with force. The guards rushed into the cell and piled onto Maggie just in time to stop her from decapitating the doctor. Brooklyn stood idly by and did his damndest to suppress his laughter, he had to mess his hair back onto his face to cover up the first genuine smile he'd had in over four years. It suddenly dawned on him that, with Maggies help, he might be able to abandon this ridiculous charade and fight their way out. All be it, the shackles would be a noted pain in the ass, there was still a shot. Besides, he couldn't just stand by and let these fucktards beat on her. He was about to join in the fun when one of the mercenaries went for his gun and aimed it straight at Maggies head while three others held her down, causing Brooklyn's smile to fade rapidly.

"No!" He shouted. All eyes focused on him and Brooklyn began to feel the rage boil over again. Just like the first incident, time slowed to a crawl and he became impervious to pain. But his perception was different, all his fears faded and he felt immortal.

The chirping echoed through his skull, a yellow feather floated down into his waiting hand and out of the corner of his eye he spotted something impossible for the second time. The strange ghostly visitor from the dungeon had returned. He glided amidst the chaos with the same intense stare Brooklyn so vividly remembered.

The phantom stretched out his boney arm from his position in front of the glass prison and pointed towards the control panel. _Free them, free yourself. _The phrase repeated itself over and over again in his mind as he fallowed the path of the bird mans finger. _Let them go! _Finally, it became clear and time returned to it's regular speed.

"What do you mean 'no'?" Sevarious shouted. "Why didn't you protect me!"

Brooklyn took a second to clear his head before answering"Because you didn't tell me to." He replied flatly.

Sevarious threw his arms in the air and let out a shrill laugh. "Well, I'm telling you now, for future reference, if someone attacks me you are to stop them!"

"Yes sir... Now get out."

Sevarious stepped back and crossed his arms at the command. "Excuse me?"

"Get out of the cell and let me handle this." Brooklyn ordered then turned his attention towards Maggie who was still struggling against three of the guards. "Back off!"

The guards looked at Sevarious for instruction who in turn looked at Brooklyn with a questioning stare.

"I want her, give her to me." Brooklyn demanded. Sevarious' face lit up as understanding dawned on him.

"Very well." He snarled as he removed Brooklyns chains then turned towards the guards. "Boys, let's get out of the way."

The guards released their grip simultaneously and quickly stepped away from the rabid mutate who swiped and clawed at them as they retreated until she saw Brooklyn approach with fire in his wild eyes.

"Brook, is that really you?" She breathed.

Sevarious and his mercenaries cleared out of the cell and settled in for the show.

"Yes." He hissed as he bent down to take a firm hold of her arms and lift her up to eye level.

"Listen, it's me!" She sniffed. "Don't do this, you don't have to do this!" As Maggie begged she saw a brief expression of sorrow cross his features.

"Yes, I do." He nearly whispered.

"No, you don't want to do it. I know the real you is still in there, I can see it!"

Brooklyn growled. "Yes I do." He stated in a forceful, harsh tone without a hint of regret this time.

"Get on with it, Brooklyn!" Sevarious shouted from outside the cell as the mercenaries cheered him on with hoots and hollers of excitement.

"Please, no." Maggie sobbed. Brooklyn stared through her eyes and straight into her soul for only a moment, then without another word, he opened his jaw and beared his monstrous teeth at her. She screamed, cried and continued to beg as Brooklyn raised her higher and sunk his teeth into the flesh of her neck, right on top of the artery. Blood spurted from her neck and she went into shock. Brooklyn shook her violently and tore deeper into her, reveling in the taste. Maggies eyes fluttered closed, her body went limp in his arms and her breath ceased.

Brooklyn careless dropped Maggie to the floor and turned to face his audience. They applauded him vigorously as he howled in triumph. Fresh blood still dripping from his lips.

TBC...


	13. Chapter 13

Coming Undone

Chapter 13

By Ariesjade

Disclaimer: I don't own gargoyles but if I did, this is what would happen...

July 6th, 2010 - Alcatraz Island.

"Bravo!" Sevarious exclaimed, clapping his hands in admiration. "For a second there you had me a bit worried"

Brooklyn didn't respond, he wore an emotionless expression as he backed away from the fresh kill, never taking his eyes off Sevarious and his cronies who were excitedly skipping towards Maggies body to get a better look at the carnage.

"Hmm, not your best work, but sufficient non the less." Sevarious observed then turned to gage Brooklyns reaction. He was a little thrown off to find Brooklyn casually making his way out of the cell, his dead pan expression replaced by a more nervous look. "My dear pet, your not feeling remorseful now, are you?" He asked as he fallowed Brooklyn to the outside of the glass prison.

"No." Brooklyn replied quietly and shaking his head slightly as he continued to back away.

Sevarious eyed Brooklyn up and down before noticing the thin trail of blood dripping from the side of his mouth. Granted, his face was already drenched in the thick liquid but it was quickly drying and this particular stream seemed to be coming from him, it escaped when he opened his mouth to answer the doctor.

"Did she scratch you?" He asked hesitantly, moving closer to inspect the wound as Brooklyn continued on his path towards the wall outside the cell.

Brooklyn narrowed his eyes and shocked Sevarious with a truly wicked smile allowing a more steady flow of blood to trickle out onto his bare chest. He reached his destination.

Sevarious moved quickly towards Brooklyn. "Let me see that."

"Sure." He complied as his smile seemed to grow even wider the closer he got.

"Ha, ha, dumb bitch got exactly what she deserved!" Maggies guard laughed as he kicked at her motionless form.

"Open your mouth." Sevarious instructed.

Brooklyn did as asked, revealing a deep gouge in his tongue. The doctors eyes widened as realization overtook him...

"_I know the real you is still in there, I can see it!"_

_Brooklyn growled because she was going to blow his cover. "Yes I do." He stated in a forceful, harsh tone without a hint of regret this time._

"_Please, no." Maggie sobbed. Brooklyn stared through her eyes and straight into her soul for only a moment, silently pleading with her to trust him, then without another word, he opened his jaw and beared his monstrous teeth at her. She screamed, cried and continued to beg as Brooklyn raised her higher and pulled her towards him_

"_I'm not going to hurt you." He whispered as he mimicked sinking his teeth into the flesh of her neck. He bit down on his own tongue and spit the blood onto her shoulder. She appeared to go into shock when she stilled, silencing her cries to listen. Brooklyn shook her violently to cover up the fact that he was spilling his own blood onto her. "It's going to be OK, you just gotta play along. Act dead until I give you the word" He instructed. Maggie understood and her eyes fluttered closed, her body went limp in his arms and her breath ceased. _

_Brooklyn carelessly dropped Maggie to the floor and turned to face his audience. They applauded him vigorously as he howled in triumph. Fresh blood still dripping from his lips. _

"Oh shit..." Sevarious muttered as he turned to warn the guards. But Brooklyn was much too far ahead of him and clamped his talons around his neck, stifling his cries.

"Now, Maggie!" He shouted. Without missing a beat, she returned to life and grasped both guards by the jugular. Maggie expelled a deadly jolt of electricity into her captors. They shook wildly and smoke rose from their twitching bodies as they burned from the inside out. When Maggie felt satisfied that they were fully cooked, she released her grip and allowed the two human barbecues to drop down beside her, then jumped to her feet and whipped out of the cell to join Brooklyn but was cut off by the remaining mercenaries.

Brooklyn tossed Sevarious in the air like a rag doll. He landed perfectly in the middle of the clustered and confused guards, taking several of them to the floor. Then Brooklyn leapt in after him taking out the rest.

Without wasting any time, Brooklyn snatched up the first fallen guard he saw and swiftly broke his neck with a loud crunch. He moved on to his next victim before the body of the first had even hit the floor, smashing his skull into the brick wall. Brooklyn brutally dispersed one after another with minimal effort until he was left standing in the middle of a pile of bloody bodies.

Confident that he had taken care of the immediate threat, Brooklyn bent down to collect the dazed doctor from the floor but the sudden buzz of a shock wave and a yelp of pain startled him. He shot straight back up, Sevarious' jacket collar still in hand, to find a freshly downed guard steaming on the floor. He turned back to Maggie who stood sheepishly behind the mound of bodies.

"You missed one." She stated quietly.

The employer watched the action safely from the main observation room with a scowl. "God damned human imbecile!" He growled, slamming his metal hand down on top of the monitor and smashing it to pieces.

He stormed out of the room.

"Nicely done." Brooklyn commended Maggie while holding Sevarious at bay with a ferocious grip. He kicked at Brooklyn and clawed at his arm but he didn't even acknowledge his efforts as so much as slightly annoying. Instead, Brooklyn spit the blood from his injured tongue out and to wiped away the mess from his face.

Maggies only response to Brooklyns comment was a nod and small smile as she looked upon him with mystified eyes.

Brooklyn noticed her gaze and smiled softly. "It's good to see you too." He then quickly turned away, focusing on the task at hand. He opened the control box and inspected it for any clues as to what switch controlled what. His concentration lapsed only slightly when he heard the alarm go off alerting all the mercenaries of the trouble they were causing. Maggie was a little more unnerved by the siren.

"What do we do?" She asked, no longer trying to sound un-afraid.

"We are going to give them exactly what they've been working towards all these years." He replied as he found what he was looking for and casually placed his hand over the switch. "Monsters." He continued as the corners of his mouth turned upward.

Sevarious spotted the label over the switch and quickly understood Brooklyns intentions. He tried to protest but only elicited a tighter grip from his claws, almost to the point of shattering his adams apple but Brooklyn wanted the god doctor alive for the time being.

The shouting of the approaching mercenaries caught their attention and Brooklyn quickly changed position so that he could use Sevarious as a human shield.

"Get behind me and stay there." He ordered Maggie who complied without compliant.

Fifty mercenaries burst through the entrance to cell block D but stopped dead in their tracks upon the sight of the situation.

"Dinner is served!" Brooklyn growled as he pulled down the master lock switch, opening ever cell door on the block, releasing all of the doctors creations with the guards right in the middle of it all.

One by one, the ravenous beats leapt forth from the darkness and took their liberties with the human meat awaiting them. Chaos ensued.

Maggie yelped at the sight from her partially sheltered spot behind Brooklyn. "Jesus christ, what are they?"

"Ask him." He answered, thrusting Sevarious in her direction.

Rapid gunfire shook the walls of cell block D complemented by horrific screams and deadly howls.

"We gotta get outta here!" Maggie wailed.

"Not just yet." Brooklyn countered. "I want this piece of shit to witness the fruition of all his hard work."

What looked like a female gargoyle with bloody eyes and burned, bubbling, puss covered skin felt her way though the crowd searching for a weakling to feast on. Brooklyn remembered her and her moans of horror that still escaped her lips to this day. While trying to escape another of the experiments, one of the guards frantically ran straight into her outstretched arms. As soon as she felt the heat on her horribly mutilated palms she clutched onto him with a vice like grip. The guards flailing and struggling was futile as she pulled him closer headfirst to her salivating jaw and bit down into his skull with a juicy crunch. Blood spewed from the wound as she stripped his scalp from the bone and and chunks of meat fell from her famished mouth as she chewed eagerly.

"This is insane!" Maggie cried.

"Don't worry, just trust me." Brooklyn insisted. He spotted the beast that had nearly made him it's meal on his first night of hellish imprisonment on that island as it's long alien like tongue darted out and snatched up one of the fleeing guards. The doomed man writhed and shrieked as he was drug toward his impending agenizing death. He desperately clawed at the concrete floor until his finger nails detached one after the other. As the slimy tongue slithered ever closing to it's destination with the unfortunate man held tight at the end, wails of sheer terror flooded the air and finally, as the hungry beast lost it's patience, the tongue itself began digging into the mans flesh as if it had a mind of it's own.

Chunks of bloodied meat could be seen being ripped from the mans chest and trailing up through the extended tongue into the waiting monsters gullet. Even Brooklyn was repulsed by the sight and was thankful Maggie didn't have a good view from her position. But Sevarious could see every last detail and nearly retched at the display.

"Oh, Anton, you must be so proud!" Brooklyn sneered, thrusting him towards the carnage but not letting go. He gagged and closed his eyes tight.

Though Maggies view may have been obstructed, she had seen enough and the noise more then compensated for the sight.

"Brooklyn!" She shouted, taking hold of his free arm and twisting him around to face her. "... Please." Was all she could force out. He stared deep into her tear streaked eyes and his hatred softened a bit. He understood and he was itching to take his personal revenge on the good doctor anyway.

"Alright doc, it's time for our own private party." He said grinning as he roughly yanked Sevarious by the neck away from the scene.

Brooklyn led his prisoner and Maggie towards the ladder at the end of the block that he had taken to the next floor on his first night there. He instructed Maggie to go first and then he fallowed, dragging Sevarious up on the tips of his talons by the scruff of the neck. The doctors howls of agony almost drowned out the noise of the feast going on down the hall.

"What do you intend to do with me?" Sevarious asked in a shaky voice once they had all emerged from the lower floor.

Brooklyn had been fantasizing about this moment since the day he promised his vengeance. "I intend to treat you with the same generosity and hospitality you've shown me all these years. Sevarious did not require further explanation, he fully comprehended the meaning behind those words.

"Brooklyn, think about this. Look what I've given you. All the power and resilience you're making use of right now are because of me. I'm the reason you no longer turn to stone and are immune to sedatives, you can now fly instead of glide, you're smarter, you're faster, you are a god!" Sevarious exclaimed in his usual over dramatic way.

Brooklyn stood motionless as Sevarious spoke, his eyes narrowed, his teeth clenched and ground and his talons wrapped into air tight fists so snug they bled.

"You are the reason..." Brooklyn whispered as he slowly and maniacally turned his head towards Sevarious. "I'm a fucking monster!" He lashed out and thrust Sevarious into the wall behind him with such force as to crack the concrete. Several of Sevarious' ribs shattered on impact and he gave a small squeak as he coughed out the blood rising in his lungs.

"You stole me away from my family, you murdered my brothers, you took everything I had!" Brooklyn continued in a low growl. "You turned me into... this... whatever the fuck I am now and then you tried to make me into a slave... but it didn't work, did it? No, but you were very successful at turning me into a psycho weren't you!"

Maggie reflected on Brooklyns words as she watched the drama unfold and then it dawned on her.

"They're not dead." She spoke softly and Brooklyn acknowledged her confusing statement with only silence. "You're talking about Broadway and Lex right?" She asked, cautiously approaching and very gently resting her hand on his shoulder.

Brooklyn slowly turned and casually dropped Sevarious to the floor, he lay there coughing and sputtering, completely helpless to try to escape.

"They're alive?" Brooklyn questioned with the first tinge of hope surging through his tormented mind.

"Yes, they're fine." Maggie nodded. "Why did you think they were dead?"

Brooklyn didn't answer, he couldn't. An internal war was raging inside him as he realized all this was for nothing. He had the perfect opportunity to escape without incident the very first night but he stayed to fulfill his quest for revenge. Four and a half years of torture that never needed be. But they were alive and he hadn't failed them. They're blood wasn't on his hands

"You're not a monster." Maggie jolted Brooklyn from his thoughts.

"I remember a time when you thought I was." He countered softly. Maggie sheepishly looked down a little embarrassed. "Let's get out of here." He continued, the rage instantly subsided at Maggies kind words and he quickly remembered why he'd carried a dim torch for her all these years.

The duo turned towards the exit of the boiler room, leaving Sevarious to writhe on the floor but came to an abrupt stop when a cryptic moan filtered through the door from the hall.

"What..."

"Shh." Brooklyn cut Maggie off as he inched closer to the door. "Wait here." He whispered and cracked the door open with stealth. He inspected the hallway which appeared to be empty. Assuming the danger had passed, Brooklyn motioned for Maggie to join him as he opened the door wider.

"Whatever it was, looks like it passed us by. Come on." He said, taking her hand and leading her out into the hall. They moved slowly and cautiously and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Ok, where to?" Maggie asked.

"I know there was a window at the end of the hall it's just a matter of which way..." Brooklyn was abruptly cut off by a strong claw digging into his shoulder. He spun around and aggressively knocked his attacker to the floor by instinct.

"Fuck!" He exclaimed upon recognition of the owner of the claw.

"Oh my god, no!" Maggie wailed as the empty shell that once was Talon stood up on shaky legs and reached out for them again. His head was disfigured, as if it had been crushed on the top left side. Tears of blood fell from his bulging eyes. His limbs hung loosely from his mutilated torso. He flailed his arms and drug his right leg as he trudged towards his prey, sorrowful senseless cries bellowed out of his salivating mouth.

Brooklyn jumped and shoved Maggie back away from the unfortunate monster. She resisted and called out to Talon, refusing to accept reality.

"Maggie, that's not Talon anymore!" Brooklyn tried to convince her as he forced her back but she continued to struggle, even swiping at him once to try to brake free from his overpowering arms.

Talon gave chase, desperately limping his way towards his intended meal.

"Derek, it's gonna be ok, it's gonna be ok!" Maggie shrieked, trying to convince herself as well.

"Maggie, he's dead. You've gotta let him go or we will be too so back off!" He shouted losing his patience and pushing her to the floor. There was no other choice but to take her out of the equation so he could deal with the situation. She fell limp and sobbed uncontrollably while Brooklyn quickly scanned the area for a weapon. As luck would have it, it seemed Talon had already indulged in an appetizer. A bloody mess of a guard lay lifeless down the hall behind the wailing monster.

Brooklyn lunched himself into the air and tackled Talon hard to the floor then rolled off him. He spread his long wings and took to the air again, shooting towards the downed guard with incredible speed. He landed flawlessly and snatched up the discarded hand gun just as Talon was getting to his feet. Brooklyn stood and aimed but hesitated, his heart beat echoed through his head as he watched the sad scene play out. Maggie was deep in denial, she sat up and reached for the approaching beast. It shuffled up to her, his incessant wailing ceased and for a moment a small tinge of hope passed through Brooklyn that maybe he was wrong, maybe Talon was just in pain and confused, maybe his love for Maggie was counteracting the instinctive feeding frenzy and he wasn't beyond all help.

Talon slumped before Maggie and stared into her through his dead eyes, fresh blood and drool dripping from his lips then he lunged at her and clamped onto her neck. She squeaked and choked, her expression rapidly changing from sadness and love to fear and confusion. He lifted her up and unhinged his jaw in anticipation of the taste of her flesh. Maggie closed her eyes and prepared for the fact that she was going to die with, as well as by her lover. Suddenly, she felt a warm sticky substance coat her face and drip down to her chest. She slowly opened her eyes to see Brooklyn at the end of the hall, holding a smoking gun through the hole in Talons head. His grasp on Maggies neck loosened and he toppled to the floor. Maggie fell along with him, she lay trembling and in shock as she looked upon her dead love for the second time, blood still soaking her petrified face.

Brooklyn threw the gun aside, ripped a small piece of the half eaten guards uniform off and rushed over to Maggie. He offered the torn rag to her but she remained motionless. He leaned in and tried to clean the blood from her face for her but she flinched and pushed his hand away.

The rage began to boil again at the mean spirited gesture. Brooklyn tossed the rag away and stormed off back towards the boiler room. He shoved open the door and headed straight for Sevarious who was still not able to make good his escape with his injuries. He saw Brooklyn approaching with a menacing look in his eyes and screamed his protests.

"No, stop, get away!"

But he was abruptly silenced by Brooklyns claws clamping down on his jaw with force and he resumed his violent vengeance streak. He drug him across the floor by his upper jaw, out into the hall where he stopped briefly to take Maggies arms in his other hand. She tried to push him away again but he wouldn't be discouraged so easily this time. He tightened his grip and yanked her to her feet, she let out a sad yelp at the jolt but then quietly fallowed along for the rest of the way, knowing deep down that he had saved her life and would never intentionally cause her harm though she was too upset to admit it.

Brooklyn led them to the lab, he wasn't completely sure exactly where it was but found it with an eerie ease. He hurled Sevarious through the entrance then ushered Maggie through in front of him. Upon entering the room, Brooklyn spotted two frightened lab tech cowering under the counter. He wasted no time in rushing the techs, taking one by the collor, spinning him around to gather speed and slamming him head first into a glass table. He then turned back to watch the second tech wet himself in fear. Brooklyn snarled at the display.

"You're as guilty as the rest of them." He said as he snatched him up by the hair. "And you'll be punished just the same." Brooklyn wrapped his powerful hands around his head and squeezed. The tech howled in exquisite pain until his eyes began to bleed from the pressure. A loud snap confirmed the techs death and Brooklyn let his body tumble to the floor.

He turned his attention back to Sevarious and Maggie who had slumped down in the corner with her head hung into her hands as she wept. This only fueled Brooklyn hatred, he marched across the room, clutched Sevarious by the jugular and shoved him into a vacant office chair.

"An eye for an eye..." Brooklyn rummaged through the mini fridge and found two bottles for the perfect cocktail. "A tooth for a tooth..." He chanted as he searched for a specific instrument on the surgical table. "A face for a face." He finished as he added the tool to the row of goodies on the counter beside Sevarious' chair and picked up one of the bottles. "Trioxin." Brooklyn read the label out loud as he plunged a syringe into the bottle and sucked out the deadly liquid.

He looked over at Maggie who had finally lifted her head to take in her surroundings.

"I guess you were right after all, Maggie. I am a monster." Brooklyn raised the needle high in the air and brought it down with force, stabbing Sevarious in the chest.

Sevarious twitched and inhaled sharply as the hot chemical was injected into his body.

Brooklyn dropped the empty syringe then picked up another along with the second bottle he had retrieved from the mini fridge.

"Mutagen." He read the label off for the doctor again then repeated his previous actions of draining the bottle and injecting it into Sevarious, this time he plunged the needle into his neck.

Sevarious began to violently convulse and foam at the mouth.

Maggie slowly pulled herself up as she watched the incredible cruelty. The immediate shock of the incident in the hall was slowly subsiding.

Brooklyn picked up the last item on the counter, a razor sharp scalpel, then menacingly waved in front of the doctors face as he coughed up and choked on his own blood.

Maggie cautiously approached. Normally, she hated violence but she found herself strangely fascinated by this experience.

Brooklyn sliced into Sevarious' chin and proceeded to cut a line around his face with precise precision. Once the circle was complete, he dug his talons under the skin and slowly began to tare the skin away. A nauseating slurping sound invaded their ears as the ligaments and muscles detached from Sevarious' face. The noise forced Maggie to take a step back and turn her head. Brooklyn only seemed to revel in it.

Finally, the skin came loose and Brooklyn dangled in front of his victim who was beyond the point of screaming. He merely twitched and squirmed as his jaw hung loosely open and his bloodied eyes darted around the room, not looking at anything in particular.

Brooklyn discarded the flimsy piece of flesh into it's owners lap then backed away to admire his work.

"Jesus..." Maggie whispered at the sight, catching Brooklyns attention. He couldn't help but notice how calm she now appeared. He stared at her in a haze, wondering what would become of them after all this torment. It was a truly mind bending experience in the worst way and the after effects on both their souls would most likely be permanent. Brooklyn knew he was dangerous and couldn't guarantee that he could always keep control over this rage that infected him and there was no way of knowing what could set him off. The thought that Maggie and everyone else might have been better off if he had just let himself die in that god forsaken cell of his poisoned his mind, after all Maggie was brought here especially for his loyalty test. Now Talon was dead and he doubted she would ever recover not only from that fact, but the torturous display she had just witnessed by his own hands. How could he ever expect her to look upon him with anything but disgust from now on. For that matter, how could he live with himself now?

Brooklyn lowered his eyes to the bloodied scalpel still clutched in his hand and considered his options.

"I'm sorry, Maggie." He whispered without raising his head to look at her. "I'm really fucked up."

"I know." She replied bluntly as she slowly approached him, her eyes fixated on the sharp instrument at his side. "But it's not your fault."

Brooklyns head whipped up to meet her gaze as she gently wrapped her fingers around his wrist with a feather light touch. He held his breath as she silently urged him not to give up and let the scalpel fall from his grasp.

The pissing guard spilled his guts to Goliath without hesitation. He told him everything he knew though he wasn't really deeply informed on the details.

"They'd been planning this for three years before it even began." He squeaked through Goliaths bear like grip. "When I got here it was already underway, doctor Sevarious and that robotic gargoyle kidnaped a bunch of transients and lone gargoyles from all around the world. They stuck to people nobody would miss, then they took this place over and the really weird shit started."

"Would you care to elaborate on the 'weird shit'?" Goliath demanded rather then requested.

"I don't know man!" The guard cried.

"I think you do! Indulge me." Goliath growled as he squeezed the guards puny neck tighter in a silent threat.

"Experiments." He coughed.

"What kind of experiments?" Goliath was growing rather impatient.

"I don't know the details but I got a look at one of them once..." He paused.

"And?" Goliath coaxed him on.

"It was a fucking monster, man! They told me it used to be human, but you'd never know it."

"What is this 'pet' of Sevarious'?"

The guard sighed. "About four years ago a gargoyle was brought here. We all knew something big was going down 'cause this one had been specifically targeted and the doc's victims are usually picked at random. When he got here the doc put all his other projects on hold to focus all his attention on this one. He really did a number on him but they refused to let him die, if any of the other ones even showed signs of weakness they would be put down."

"Where did that gargoyle come from?"

"Manhattan."

Goliath had all the information he needed. He hurled the guard to the ground and rushed back towards the prison. Brooklyn was alive and somewhere inside that building.

As he climbed the stone walls ascending to the closest window to gain entrance, he heard screaming and then the high pitched squeal of an alarm.

TBC...


	14. Chapter 14

Coming Undone

Chapter 14

By Ariesjade

Disclaimer: If you haven't gotten the hint by now, then I still do not own gargoyles.

Promissary note: Demona will have a staring roll in future chapters. Keep the faith.

July 7th, 2010 - Alcatraz Island

12:14 AM the clock on the infirmary wall read. Goliath had to wipe the blood away with a discarded rag to observe the position of the clock hands. The face was cracked and the frame bent, indicating that what ever it was that had shredded what was left of the human whose lifeless remains lay slouched against the wall had left only a few minutes prior to Goliaths arrival.

He scanned the room in absolute shock at the morbid scene. There was nothing he could do for them, the four unfortunate souls that had fallen victim to someone or something with an apparently insatiable blood lust.

Goliath broke in through the barred window in the hall just outside the infirmary, he'd only been inside the building for a few seconds before discovering the carnage. Rarely was Goliath paralyzed by fear, but shear terror held him tightly in it's grasp now. He had to force himself to inhale, his limbs trembled uncontrollably and tears stung at his eyes. He just stood motionless at the infirmary doors, taking in the brutality for what seemed like hours but, in reality was only a few moments, until a monstrous howl echoed through the halls of the building, shaking it to it's very foundation and quickly jarring Goliath back to his senses. He charged into the supposed solitude of the blood riddled medical room to try to conceal himself from whatever it was that just made that noise and, assumably, murdered all these people.

He listened intently as loud, out of balance foot steps pounded down the hall on the other side of the doors. It passed the room by without even slowing down but, still Goliath took shelter in the corner of the room and froze in position until he was sure the creature was long gone and the only remaining sound in the immediate vicinity was that of his own short, quick breaths. It was then that he notice the broken clock on the wall and it was then that it dawned on him that he was right in the middle of a stationary apocalypse and finally, he realized that he was going to have to venture out into hells mouth if he hoped to have any chance of finding his long lost second alive, as well as save himself.

A thick dark crimson river oozed from the beasts lips as it eagerly tore into it's victim. Razor sharp fangs dug into fistfuls of torn, dripping flesh. The monstrous mutation snarled and purred as it feasted, much to engrossed to notice the approaching threat, but a sudden blow to the back of it's grotesque head spoiled it's blissful meal. A puree of bloody chunks burst from the freshly smoking hole in the back of it's throat as it fell limp, tumbling down on top of it's once human food.

"What are we doing here? I don't see an exit." Maggie whispered, clinging to Brooklyns free arm as he lowered the pistol in his other hand.

"Just tying up loose ends." He replied, scanning the immediate area for any further possible threats. He cautiously lead Maggie into the room and closed the door behind them. They were surrounded by electronics, filing cabinets, scientific equipment and various books. .

Maggie lost her supposed death grip on Brooklyns arm as he rushed towards a certain desk covered with several monitors. "Look at this." He instructed and Maggie instantly took her place by his side, she gasped at what she saw. The surveillance footage documented the building wide carnage as it happened. Ravenous, angry creatures of all types stalked the halls, devouring everything in their paths. What was left of live guards moved in nervous clusters, shooting endless rounds at anything that moved. "What a total shit storm." Brooklyn mumbled. Maggie remained speechless in fear of what was implied by that remark. She bit her lip and watched his mannerisms closely with desperate eyes. If it was selfish of her to want to simply say 'fuck it' and forget all this as they were to slip out a window undetected, then she would gladly carry the title for the rest of her days but she had a sneaking suspicion Brooklyn wouldn't feel the same way. He finally seemed to brake from his trance and opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a faint rustling behind them, promptly stealing their concentration from the televised brutality.

Brooklyn turned sharply, gun raised and pointed straight out. He had acquired a near arsenal of weaponry between the medical supply room, thought to be a lab at first, where they had left Sevarious skinned and twitching and their current position of the main laboratory. The many, many dead guards provided an endless supply of guns and ammunition.

Maggie remained motionless as Brooklyn swept the room, ready and willing to empty every gun he had at his disposal into whatever may cross his path. Growing impatient at the lack of further implicating noises, he picked up one of the smaller monitors and roughly chucked it to the other side of the room hoping to flush out the intruder. It worked. The computer screen smashed into one of the lockers that had been hidden in the dimly lit room, coaxing a high pitched shriek from it's dweller. Anna Sterling came stumbling out of the middle locker in a complete hysteria. She toppled to the floor, tripping over her own feet.

Upon her outburst, Brooklyn lowered the gun and allowed a smug chuckle to pass through his lips. "Well, look who joined the party." He snarled. Maggie remained silent. "Maggie, meet doctor Sterling. A very gifted plastic surgeon." He continued as he gestured to his own face and she undoubtably understood.

Brooklyn marched over to the quivering doctor and roughly ripper her off the floor. She choked and cried, swinging her nimble fists at him in vein.

"Woe, easy killer." He said mockingly. "You are a killer right?"

"No!" She cried in reply. "I'm just a surgeon. I didn't choose to be here anymore then you did."

"Fare enough." He smirked as she wept uncontrollably. Brooklyn shook his head in disgust. "But you see, the major difference there is that you are still the same species that you were when you arrived, as well arguably richer and happier for the experience and would have been free to leave and live the rest of your life in whatever way you chose." He emphasized the' would have been' part of that sentence. "Very much _unlike _the rest of us in so many ways."

"I had nothing to do with that!" Sterling pleaded.

"You seem a little upset..." Brooklyn spoke with pure mockery. "Are you scared? Yeah, I was pretty fucking scared too not long ago." He continued without letting her answer. "So was Maggie and Talon and all those mutated creatures down there."

"Oh god, what are you gonna do to me?" The weeping woman asked, seemingly accepting her fate.

"What do you think I should do?"

"Let her go." Maggie chimed in with an unusually assertive tone.

"What?" Brooklyn asked stunned. Sterling beamed at Maggie with desperate hope in her eyes.

"I said let her go."

"Why?" He asked through clenched teeth, shooting a deadly glare at the doctor and refusing to look at Maggie.

"So she can enjoy her work, up close and personal, she's earned that much." Maggie answered with a small, devious smile spreading across her lips as she casually crossed her arms over her chest. Brooklyns glare immediately softened into a look of intense pleasure as Sterlings expression of hope gave way to confusion.

"That is a very good point." He spoke softly as he released his grip on his prisoner. "You're free to go." Sterling gazed at Brooklyn doubtfully as she backed away.

"Hurry up." Maggie growled, rolling her eyes and Sterling took the hint. She took off in full speed, bursting from the room and screaming down the hall, her only objective to put as much distance as possible between herself and the rouge gargoyle. In her blind hysteria, she mistakenly threw caution to the wind, failing to pay any necessary attention to the path that lay ahead or, more importantly, what said path housed.

"You sure about this?" Brooklyn asked solemnly fallowing Sterlings hasty exit. Maggie only nodded in response. She fully understood what she had just condemned that woman to and the irony of the situation was definitely not lost on her, but something inside her was burning and she longed to see blood, hear pain, with no regrets.

Brooklyn examined Maggies stance, features, breathing patterns, everything, never doubting the truth of her feelings. She, like him, would never be the same.

As predicted and planned, Sterlings escape was short lived. She turned her line of vision to face ahead only seconds too late, slamming chest first into a virtual hulk. It stood well over 8 feet tall even though it's back arched over in a half hump, sliming several inches off it's full height. It turned it's giant, bold, rounded cranium to face it's attacker without even a hint of fear, but peaked curiosity.

Sterling had been knocked off balance by the self inflicted blow and stumbled backwards. She only momentarily regained her senses long enough to get a good look at her impending death. As a plastic surgeon she was in the strong habit of taking mental notes on individual physique and, though she was paralyzed with fear, this was no exception. Perhaps even harder to resist as her brain could be using said fact as a coping mechanism. Regardless, instead of screaming, begging or attempting another miraculous escape, she simply started taking in this creatures physical detailing.

_It's head somewhat resembles a rotting jack-o-lantern with moss covered wooden teeth. Skin like wet leather and muscle tone like that of a dead, obese man. Interesting..._

Her mind swam with such pointless thoughts as the mammoth beast lifter her in it's boxing glove like hands and opened it's salivating mouth. Sterling only babbled in cohesively to herself as the monster wrapped it's bear clamp like jaws around her head, down to the neck and decapitated her with one swift chomp.

"Can we go now?" Maggie asked in a somewhat detached state.

"What about those?" Brooklyn countered, motioning to the remaining surveillance monitors.

"Not our problem."

"Maggie, I let them out."

"But _they _created them." She snarled with disgust. "Not... Our... Problem."

Brooklyn raised an eye ridge at her passive tone. "It will be our problem and everyone else's if those things get off the island. This needs to be put to rest tonight." He said forcefully.

Maggie sighed in defeat. "What's the plan then? Please don't tell me you're planning on hunting all of them down and killing them off one by one."

"As fun as that sounds, no..." He paused and looked around the room, focusing on one area in particular. " I think we can take care of this from here."

Goliath stepped lightly through the halls. So far, he'd managed to avoid any physical confrontation with anything and had made it all the way to the to cell block D. The first thing he noticed upon entry was the incredible stench, a reek that bad could only be that of rotting flesh. It was nearly vomit inducing but, somehow, Goliath kept his composure as he moved down the corridor as quickly as possible, happily sacrificing stealth for speed in the current conditions.

The river of corpses thinned as he made his way down the hall but a thin trail of blood continued on, leading to a shadow concealed ladder on the very back wall. His corse being obvious, he slowly began his assent. Finding the hatch left open and the next floor to be corpse free, a tiny tinge of hope swelled in his heart, only to die an agenizing death upon the discovery of the lifeless body of Elisa's brother lying in pool of coagulated blood in the hall outside his ascension point.

"How is it possible?" He asked out loud to the emptiness that surrounded him. "He had nothing to do with this." The longer he stared at the gruesome sight, the more bile raised in his throat, he had to force himself to turn away. But the sinking feeling was over whelming, his knees shook then gave out from underneath him. He dropped to the floor at a loss. Talons death was tragic and if he, who Goliath had spoken with only nights earlier had fallen victim to Sevarious, what chance was there that Brooklyn was still savable. It occurred to him that Maggie was with Talon on the night of their departure, it'd be highly unlikely that she hadn't been brought here as well.

"Jesus christ, how many will we have to bury before this is over?" He roared in exasperation and the building seemed to respond with an ear piercing siren seemingly blasting from the walls themselves.

"_Two minutes to total evacuation." _A computerized phantom voice commented over the alarm. This was a different sound then the alarm that had gone off earlier, it was louder, more urgent and enough to snap Goliath back to his senses. He rose from the floor with renewed determination and galloped forth, fallowing the path of destruction that ravaged the halls. It was as good a plan as any. Said path led him directly to a cracked open door that read 'Supplies'. Forcing his fears to subside, he burst through the door, eyes ablaze and ready for a fight. But he found only a lone man sitting in an office chair with his back to him.

"What is going on here?" Goliath boomed with authority but received only a twitch in response. It was then that Goliath noticed the steady dripping noise. His eyes slowly moved over the silent man, closely investigating every inch. Starting at the head, moving down his exposed back to the limp hanging arm that fell over the side arm of the chair, the hand, that's where the liquid was dripping from. Determining that this person posed no threat, Goliath marched towards him with heavy steps and whirled the chair around.

"I asked you ahh..." He gasped mid sentence at the sight before him.

Sevarious was still alive and coherent enough to understand what was happening around him but communication was impossible, he couldn't move more then his muscle spasms would allow, nor could he speak. The chemicals coursing through his veins were slowly boiling him from the inside, yet they were the only thing keeping him alive at the same time. He stared up at Goliath with wide, bulging eyes, behind which were bloodied, pussing eye sockets surrounded by muscles, ligaments and bone but no skin. Loose flesh dangled from his broken jaw as it uncontrollably jerked up and down in a useless attempt to form words.

"What, who, my god in heaven." Goliath stammered, unable to organize his thought.

"_One minute to total evacuation." _The electronic voice warned.

"Did you hear that?" Brooklyn asked as he rummaged through some paper work.

"What?" Maggie replied.

"It almost sounded like..."

"Is this what you're looking for?" She cut him off, holding up a binder entitled 'Fail safe'.

"Let's see." He took the binder from her and flipped through it. A sly smile spread across his scarred face. "This is it. Are you ready?"

Maggie nodded. "How did you know about this?"

"Lucky guess, Sevarious is a psycho but he's also a genius and Lex taught me some stuff about computers that I never thought would come in handy." He smirked as he punched the codes into the computer from the binder then paused with his finger hovering over the execute command.

"What's the matter? Just do it." Maggie eagerly encouraged him.

"I just can't believe it's really over." Brooklyn sighed as an amazing sensation of near bliss washed over him.

Maggie reached out and covered his waiting hand, applying gentle pressure. "Do it." She repeated and he joyfully complied.

'Operation fail safe active' appeared in red text on the computer screen as the siren screamed through the building.

"_Two minutes to total evacuation." _


	15. Chapter 15

Coming Undone

Chapter 15

By Ariesjade

Disclaimer: {Insert typical *I do not gargoyles* disclaimer joke here}

Authors Note: Sorry guys, retail job + x-mas season = no time off... ever. Hope it was worth the wait!

July 7th, 2010 - Alcatraz Island.

Hell on earth. The hot summer air was stifling inside the dense brick building of which demons straight out of purgatory stalked the blood stained halls of the haunted prison. A heavy silence loomed in the thick, putrid, coppery air, save the occasional growl or death rattle until a soft yet stern voice ripped through the atmosphere, like a hot knife through butter, to deliver her fatal warning.

"_Two minutes to total evacuation."_

The grotesque hunters that roamed the empty corridors all froze in their tracks at full attention. Though the words meant nothing to their damaged minds, the sound itself brought the possibility of their most precious and basic desire: Food. Instantly, the creatures movements became frantic and purposeful as they searched every shadow for the source of the phantom voice.

"_One minute to total evacuation." _

Goliath swallowed the bile rising in his throat and forced himself to look away from the rotting pile of flesh that was melting before his very eyes. A war raged, however briefly, inside him. He did not come to the decision with ease but honor be damned, he promised Brooklyn vengeance and so he shall have it whether he was around to enjoy it or not.

"You brought this on yourself, Sevarious... To hell with you." He growled as he stalked towards the exit.

Once free of the rather distracting sight and stench of the contents of the medical supply room, Goliaths sensibilities returned to him with force. There wasn't much time and there was even less hope at this point. The fact that possibilities were given and then taken away made everything all the worse and Goliath had no options left. His guts twisted with gilt at the thought of giving up after all this time. Yes, the guards had indicated that Brooklyn was alive, but what were the odds that he was still... him. After witnessing what happened to Talon, and he wasn't even officially missing as far as the clan was concerned, as of yet anyway. The guards had also referred to Brooklyn as Sevarious' "Favorite pet" and what the hell happened to Sevarious anyway?

A tidal wave of uncertainty washed through Goliaths mind leaving him reeling. But, that fact of the matter was none of it mattered now, he was too late and if he didn't get out now, he would just be another grave to add to their growing family cemetery.

Though it felt like he was trying to run through quick sand with hurricane force winds pushing backwards, he trudged forward, fleeing the scene.

"You know I've fantasied about some sort of miraculous escape every night from the first and never once in those fantasies did I envision just waltzing out the front doors." Brooklyn mused with a dead panned expression as he and Maggie made their way towards the prisons main exit.

"I think you maybe over simplifying this a little." Maggie retorted with a raised eyebrow.

"We need to make sure none of those... um... things escape. Everything in this building must be destroyed along with the building itself." He instructed, nearly shouting over the blaring alarm. Maggie was about to protest seeing as she thought they had fulfilled their responsibilities in this endeavor but she was abruptly cut off as chunks of the ceiling tumbled down and struck her in the shoulder. She yelped at the sudden blunt pain and crashed to the floor. Brooklyn jumped to her aid and swept her dazed form off the concrete only to lose her to the deadly grasp of what appeared to be a mechanical tentacle. He swiped at the thieving limb as a second snaked around his torso and whipped him through the air, plunging him hard into the brick walls that surrounded the main hall.

Slowly, the remainder of the ceiling gave way, engulfing the room in a fine dust cloud. Only the blazing flames of jets and burning red eyes were visible through the haze as their attacker descended from above like a fallen angel.

Maggie cried out in pain from the intense pressure being applied by the metal limb that wrapped around her abdomen, pinning her arms to her sides.

Brooklyn coughed and choked against both the onslaught of decrepit dust and the crushing grip on his chest, the more he fought, the harder it squeezed. He desperately strained for air.

Finally, the mist settled and their captor loosened his vicious grip just enough to allow his two hostages air. They both gasped in unison.

"Brook?" Maggie managed to choke out in between sobs. He didn't answer, his attentions were focused squarely on the chrome face that glared back at him with as much hatred as a cyborg was capable of feeling.

"Cold Steel." Brooklyn growled with heavy realization. "You sone of a bitch!"

"Let's dispense with the pleasantries quickly, shall we." He sneered, his tone dripping with venom. "You ripped apart my dreams, all my hard work, my perfect plans, so... now I'm going to rip out your heart!"

"You ripped out my heart years ago, but at least I had one to be ripped out in the first place you fucking machine!" He retorted fearlessly. Cold Steel fumed and shoved Brooklyn against the bricks again with intense force. More dust erupted from the walls as the back of his head connected with the decaying stone. Blood left a distinct crimson stain in his silver hair and trickled down the back of his neck.

"Leave him alone!" Maggies pleas went unanswered.

"_Thirty seconds to total evacuation."_

"Do you have any idea what it's like to live every day of your life as a prisoner of your own body?" Cold Steel spit out.

"No, I've always been perfectly content with my current gender!" Brooklyn shot back through gritted teeth. Nothing mattered to him at that moment but seeing Cold Steel's slow, agonizing death, not Maggies life, not his own and what ever he'd set in motion when he activated the supposed self destruct sequence was soon to come to fruition. If he could antagonize him into dragging this out, he would at least die with them.

The maniacal roar Cold Steel let loose was proof that his plan was working. "When I'm through with you, you won't have a current gender!" Brooklyn groaned as Cold Steels metal tentacle clenched tighter still, his arms started to go numb from lack of blood and sharp, stabbing bursts of pain shot through his skull. His face contorted as every ounce of air was forced from his body.

"_Ten seconds to total evacuation." _

Maggie could take no more, she was sick of playing the part of damsel in distress. Brooklyn had killed her love and his friend to save her, all the while having to fight her off to do it only an hour earlier, though it already seemed like years ago given everything they'd gone through since then, and they were so close to freedom, she wasn't giving up now and she wasn't going to allow him to give up either.

The only plan of action she could come up with was going to hurt herself and Brooklyn as well, but, at least her high school science class that she despised so very much at the time would finally prove useful.

Hot liquid fire coursed through her veins as the pressure built inside of her. Every hair on her body electrified and stood on end as she released the charge and energy flowed from her every orifice. She lit up like an organic firework, shooting bolts of electricity into the metal arm that encased her. The current surged forth, tearing through Cold Steels circuits. He convulsed uncontrollably, though he was actually incapable of feeling physical pain, it was an effective strategy none the less. Unfortunately, Cold Steel was also acting as a conductor for wave after wave of the shocking force to be driven into Brooklyn. He seethed and frothed under the deadly onslaught.

As his components fried, Cold Steel began to lose his grip on his two captives. Maggie slipped free first but only fell to the floor in a heap, too weak from expelling so much energy to stand under her own power. As soon as contact was lost the coursing blasts ceased, but the damage was done. Cold Steels motherboard had been ravaged and he lost control over his tomb like body. His tentacles recoiled into him, releasing Brooklyn who was only semi-conscious and coughing up smoke by then, and he staggered into an involuntary rampage as the building crumbled down around them.

Time was up.

TBC...


	16. Chapter 16

Coming Undone

Chapter 16

By Ariesjade

Disclaimer: I don't own Gargoyles and Alcatraz, as far as I know, is still a functioning tourist attraction.

Authors note: I have to apologize for the wait again, but I had a bad case of broken computer syndrome. Thanks for hanging in their!

July 7th, 2010 - Alcatraz island

It started with a low rumble that reverberated through the decrepit walls, shaking the nearly century old dust from every imperfection in the structure, promptly fallowed by a dense wave of heat. The core of the island erupted into a pit of blue flames fueled by a powerful supreme propane and the hellish flow had nowhere to go but up.

The chaos consumed him, the noise deafened him and it was so hot, for a moment he had to wonder; _Am I finally dead? Then this must be hell._ But it passed quickly as the fog began to clear. He remembered the very unique feeling of one shock wave after another surging through his body first, what an exquisite pain that had been, he could have sworn he felt her spirit posses him for a moment before his brain shut down. _Not the perfect plan, but whatever works I suppose._ He silently mused, fighting back his impossibly heavy eyelids. But even with that battle won, his vision was still clouded in a thick red haze. He forced his sore muscles to comply and lifted his hand to his face, smearing the warm liquid from his eyes and as he inspected the dark crimson ooze that dripped from his dirt covered palm, the realization hit him that he should, in fact, be dead after such a vicious onslaught. But he didn't have time to analyze such questions at the moment with the source of all his torment lying helpless only a few feet away.

Cold Steel's mechanical body sizzled and twitched, his scrambled circuits unresponsive to any and all commands. The extensive electrical damage had severely slowed his self healing features and without the technology, the steel shell became nothing more then a prison for his soul - quite literally a ghost in the machine.

He was still aware of everything going on around him, considering he didn't technically have a physical brain, it was impossible for him to lose consciousness. He felt the quaking earth under him that signaled the islands impeding destruction, within moments the historical prison and all it's contents would be virtually cremated, including himself if this paralyzed state didn't let up very soon. He heard that goddamn over sized house cat cough and moan to his right. The thought that something so naturally weak and useless could cause him so much grief. And he watched as Brooklyn forced himself up from the floor and slowly stagger his way toward him as he silently cursed Sevarious for doing too good a job. _Irony is a cruel bitch_, he mentally sneered.

Brooklyn forced himself through the pain, this was just too beautiful a moment and nothing was going to steal it from him, not even the fact that his surroundings were collapsing around him. Coming to an intentionally casual stance in front of Cold Steel, he only allowed his eyes to stray from his archenemy's limp form for a split second to confirm that Maggie had made it to her feet.

"Can you hear me in there?" Brooklyn whispered as he bend down at the waist to hover face to face with Cold Steel. A choppy, static laced groan was the only response that he could muster. "Good." Brooklyn continued with a half hearted mischievous grin as he stood back up to his full height and strolled wordlessly to Maggie who was still struggling to regain her balance. She reached for him as soon as he came into arms length and he held her steady before slowly guiding her in Cold Steels direction.

"What are you doing?" She slurred in her mild daze. "The doors that way, we're free, let's go."

"No, we're not and we won't be until that..." Brooklyn motioned towards Cold Steel with blatant disgust. "...And everything on this goddamn island is reduced to fucking ash."

"It will be and so will we if we don't move!" She argued, tugging on Brooklyns arm with what little strength she still possessed.

"No, wait!" He took a calming breath before continuing knowing his tone was getting too forceful. It was like sweet torture knowing how close he was to watching that mechanical demon burn, but he needed Maggie to make it happen. "Look, you did a lot of damage to him, but he'll heel in minutes at best, Xanatos designed his body to be next to indestructible..." Maggie rolled her eyes at the latter. "Yeah, I know." He replied to her unspoken remark while moving to stand behind her. "But if you can pump just a few more volts into him..." He rested a well placed hand on Maggie's hip and raised her arm in Cold Steels direction with the other. "... Then maybe he'll stay grounded long enough..." He spoke into her ear in a half dangerous, half seductive tone. "... For his own designs to destroy him."

Maggie shuddered slightly at Brooklyns close proximity, his voice was almost hypnotic, he was making her crave blood like viral rage. She sucked in a deep breath to try to gather the energy.

Cold Steel was recovering quickly just as Brooklyn had predicted, the frayed wiring and smoldering circuits were coming back online one by one. He'd be on his taloned metal feet in moments.

"Hurry..." Brooklyn urged, noticing the increase in movement.

"I don't know if I can." Maggie bit out through clenched teeth.

"Yes, you can Maggie."

"I don't have the strength."

"Think about Talon, get mad, use it!" Brooklyn ordered, no longer giving a damn if he upset her.

Maggie's eyes went ablaze at the mere mention of her dead lovers name and she fallowed Brooklyns commands, using her despair to channel the energy she needed. And just as that familiar burning blue light began to travel from the crown of her head to the tips of her fingers, a deafening crash fallowed by a heart stopping battle cry resounded through the main hall as Goliath burst through the hallway doors and aggressively leapt at the two of them. He tackled Brooklyn to the floor with power, taking Maggie down with them. Her shot landed just shy of Cold Steels head, leaving a blackened scorch mark on the wall only inches away.

Believing Brooklyn to be another of Sevarious' creatures, though much better of a physical accomplishment on his part, and Maggie to be in danger, Goliath decided best to shoot first and ask questions later. He pounded Brooklyn to the floor and shouted at Maggie to run, but she seemed disoriented, fearful and concerned. She kept turning in circles and screaming inaudibly.

Cold Steel watched the two infuriated gargoyles wrestle each other into submission. He took a moment to marvel at the fact the Goliath was no longer the cut throat dominator he once was. And Brooklyn was far from scrawny, he was winning the fight with relative ease. What a beautiful monster he had created... His goals, though severely altered, may still come to fruition. But first things first.

"Goliath, get off me!" Brooklyn roared, kicking Goliath away with force and sending him crashing into the wall. He slumped to the floor in shock and pressed his mammoth hand to the fresh wound on the back of his head.

Brooklyn bounded to his feet and turned to find Cold Steel was fully functional once again and his deadly talons were wrapped tightly around Maggie's neck, she was choking and nearing unconsciousness.

"Consider this carefully, boy! Which do you desire more, me or her?" Maggie's glazed over eyes pleaded with Brooklyn as Cold Steel roughly shoved her in his direction and before another word could be spoken, she was sent hurling through the air on a high speed collision corse with the deadly fire bomb that raced through the halls and straight for them.

Brooklyn made his choice without a second thought and vaulted after Maggie. He blocked her trajectory with his own body and they tumbled to the ground, Brooklyn using his body a second time to soften the blow. They came to a skidding halt just in front of the main exit, Maggie lay limp in Brooklyns arms as he breathed a sigh of relief. But the ease was short lived as the consequences of his decision dawned on him. He hurriedly rolled Maggie off him and sat up just in time to witness the source of all his pain shoot up on powerful jets blasts through the roof and out into the night sky, laughing maniacally all the while.

"No... No... No, goddamn it!" Brooklyn shrieked as he scrambled for one of his discarded semi automatic weapons and fired furiously into the empty darkness that Cold Steel left behind. He paced back and forth under the hole in the ceiling, screamed, fired off more rounds and began pacing again. And as his screams of fury turned to wails of desperation then gave way to uncontrollable sobs, he fell to his knees, hurled the now empty gun to the ground, clutched at his hair and trembled as reality set in.

"Fuck." He whimpered over and over in tune with his rocking back and forth.

Maggie coughed and sniffed as she crawled to join Brooklyn on shaky limbs. She didn't say a word, there was nothing to be said, she pulled herself up to a sitting position and wrapped her slim arms around him as he stared off into space through teary eyes. But there was no time for grief as the fire bomb erupted into the room from the hallway, engulfing the three survivors in a thick, black smoke and scorching every exposed surface.

Brooklyn promptly shook out of his trance and pushed Maggie flat to the floor, shielding her with his wings.

The blast shoved Goliath into the wall once more, he let out an agonizing roar as the heat scolded his flesh.

The flare passed as quickly as it came but it wasn't over yet, it was now or never. Brooklyn pushed himself, through the blinding pain in his wings, off of Maggie but stayed low to the ground. He looked around but saw nothing, only the dim orange flickering lights of the smoldering embers through the dense smoke. He grasped Maggie firmly by the back of her head and lightly jostled her to lucidness.

"Maggie, open your eyes." She only moaned in response. "Look at me!" He ordered and she forced herself to comply. "You've got to crawl to the doors. Stay low, OK, that way." He pointed in the direction he hoped his senses were correct in telling him was, indeed, the right way.

She nodded her head and began the journey but stopped short when she noticed he wasn't fallowing her.

"Come on!" She cried.

"I've gotta get Goliath, just go!"

"No!" She countered, turning back sharply.

"We'll be right behind you." Brooklyn cut her off before she could protest further. "I'll see you on the outside now move, goddamn it!"

Maggie relented at his harsh yet sensible words and headed for supposed freedom.

Brooklyn watched her retreating form for a moment longer before she disappeared, then he focused all his senses into total unison, listening, watching, waiting for the vital clue that would tell him what he needed to know.

As soon as the first burst of fresh air caressed her face, Maggie knew she'd made it out despite the fact that she was still partially blinded by the smoke stinging her eyes. She clumsily dragged herself to her feet and propelled herself further. .

A deep, throaty cough finally penetrated the fog. "Goliath!" Brooklyn called out as he moved in the direction of the phantom sounds.

Goliath recognized the voice immediately now that he was actually listening rather then attacking. He tried to respond but only choked upon inhaling. Panic enveloped him as he struggled for air and he was losing the battle to stay conscious. But just before the blackness could claim him, he felt a warm pair of hands take him by the shoulders and he heard his name echoing in the distance.

Maggie collapsed under her own wait at the first touch of cool, sharp gravel. She forcibly coughed the toxic smoke from her lungs, wiped the ash from her eyes and struggled forward on all fours until the peach coloured horizon came into view, but even as she gazed into the splendor of the pacific sun rise, she still wouldn't allow herself a moments relief.

Maggie managed to pull herself to her feet once again after crawling clear of the bellowing smoke, only to be knocked off balance by another violent tremor that rocked the island from shore to shore. She tumbled to the ground, her skull impacting with force against the ground beneath her.

She cried out, more in frustration then pain. Her eyes welled up, blurring her vision and she openly sobbed while pounding her fists against any surface available.

The repulsive stink of sulphur and burning flesh engulfed his nostrils as he blindly drug the four hundred and some pounds of Goliaths dead weight across the concrete. This would have been a daunting task under regular circumstances but in the situation at hand, it was near impossible and Brooklyn mentally cursed himself for almost being great full for his new chemically induced strength and abilities.

_Come on Brooklyn, focus on the task at hand, you can be pissed off later.._. He surged forward, Goliaths torso hanging limp in his arms.

Hot sweat dripped from his blistering skin, every muscle in his body cramped and his lungs seized. His arms gave and Goliath slumped to the floor, Brooklyn toppled backwards, thrown off by the unwilling loss of weight. Every instinct that made him screamed at him to just lay down and go to sleep. But a glint of flashing white light caught Brooklyns eye, strengthening his resolve just when he thought he'd lost the battle. They were almost there.

"Maggie, wake up!"

She was able to force her eyes to open but still couldn't focus. The voice was familiar but there was something else in the back round, the sound of repeated rushing gusts of wind and she felt the strong breeze on his skin to match. She flinched when something was pressed against her face, covering her mouth, and instinctively tried to swat it away, but ceased her attempts the second she felt the first waft of cool, clean air hit her lungs.

"Come on Maggie, look at me, we need your help. You gotta tell me what the hell's going on here!"

_I must have fainted_. Maggie realized as an ugly rush of memories washed over her. "Elisa." She squeaked out, muffled by the oxygen mask.

"Yes, it's me." Elisa forcefully encouraged Maggie to continue.

"Did they get out?"

"Who?"

"Brooklyn and Goliath..."

Elisa gasped at the revelation.

"Oh god, they're still in there!" Maggie choked as she was hastily led away on a stretcher.

"Search and rescue!" Elisa wailed instructions to her team as she scrambled to the helicopter in a near melt down state. "Two victims are trapped, get some men in that building, now!"

The words had barely left her lips when a high intensity explosion erupted from the bowels of the prison, sending shock waves rocketing across the island. The raw power of the blasts forced one of the three helicopters onto its side, the still spinning blades tore at the ground, sharpening them into deadly projectiles that shot through the air at break neck speed.

Elisa, along with the rest of her team were sent spiraling into the night sky like rag dolls. One unfortunate soul met mid air with a rouge chopper blade and was impaled through and through.

Maggie watched helplessly from the safety of her gurney on the coast guards emergency water ambulance as the historic Alcatraz island tore itself apart.

TBC...


	17. Chapter 17 Part 1

Coming Undone

Chapter 17 (Part 1)

By Ariesjade

Disclaimer: I am the owner and proprietor of jack shit.

Authors note: This one's a little different. The story is at sort of a crossroad and needed to be broken up so it doesn't drag, much like the chapter itself. Hope it's to your liking!

_Oct 13, 2010_

_I don't know what I am anymore. After all those years I was convinced I would die in that cell, I'd never see my clan... or family again and no one would know what happened, but that was OK because I'd rather them remember me, the real me, the way I was. _

_Then, one day, Elisa just show's up, and for the first time I saw fear in the devils eyes. Suddenly, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. One of my biggest regrets is allowing myself to believe, even for a second, that I might make it out alive because by then, I was already long dead, I just didn't know it yet._

_... _

What remained of the swat team that had swarmed Alcatraz island just in time to absorb the full power of the final blast that would destroy any and all evidence of the rather disturbing goings on of the prison scrambled to round up the wounded and get everyone back to the main land for treatment.

The unsalvageable mounds of meat that were, not long ago, a large percentage of the search and rescue party had to be left behind, only the identifiable dead would be brought back. Such lucky corpses had to be confirmed dead, bagged and piled onto their transport quickly as the island was obviously unstable and they needed to dedicate more time to saving the savable.

At that time, Brooklyn was not considered savable.

...

_I remember every agonizing nano-second until I hit the water. I'd only just caught the scent of fresh air when the blast hit. _

_We made it to the exit and, for some reason that's lost on me now, I stopped to close the doors behind us. Which, as it turns out, was a good decision because the steel acted as a sort of shield, absorbing most of the shock and heat. So, instead of blowing us apart, the explosion just blew us away._

_It worked out fine for Goliath, as fate would have it, the sun rose just in time and his stone frame landed safely in the ocean. I have since lost that unique healing perk_ _and was transformed into a, for lack of a better term, fleshy, flaming projectile. _

_It was amazing, actually. When it get's to a certain point, you sort of move beyond the pain and then there's this moment of total clarity, I though I was finally free. But it didn't last, it was ripped away as quickly as it started. That's when I hit the water and blacked out. _

_..._

"Holy shit, poor bastard looks like he was shoved through a meat grinder."

"Yeah, I'm calling it. Time of death 5:34PM."

The shadows of the body bag swallowed Brooklyns seemingly lifeless form as it was zipped up and hoisted on top of the growing pile.

They were shipped back to the main land like cargo and divided amongst three different hospitals. It would be another six hours before Brooklyns body once again saw the light, in the morgue.

...

The coroner scanned over the next of what seemed like an endless chorus line of corpses waiting to be given their final examination. This one was especially strange, the species indeterminable at first glance.

He'd been prepped and briefed and even counseled on the delicate nature of this case, so he thought he knew what he was getting himself into when he walked through the old familiar mortuary doors, but the sight before him was more then he could have ever thought possible. He reluctantly raised the mini recorder to his lips and spoke uncertainly.

"July 9 2010, 11:52PM. John Doe number 28, DOA, from Alcatraz Island..." He stepped slowly around the examination table, inspecting every disturbing detail through exhausted eyes. "Unconfirmed ID: Brooklyn Wyvern, gargoyle..." The coroner took a long, shaky breath before continuing. "Though, facial features and bone structure is more typically human... Typical gargoyles attributes present as well. Still, subject may have been incorrectly tagged." He stopped to shine his light closer on a particular feature that caught his eye. "What appears to be deep scar tissue surrounding subjects face... Maybe associated with crude and extensive plastic surgery. As well, further scarring and numerous wounds, some fresh, but most in varying stages of recovery all over the body... He's... still...healing." He turned Brooklyns head to one side then the other to get a better look, when yet another new oddity came to light. "Rigor mortis not present." He checked his watch, the clock on the wall and the toe tag once again to confirm his theory. "You're still alive."

He carelessly tossed his recorder on the counter and snatched the stethoscope from the cabinet above. The beat was slow and nearly inaudible, but it was there.

"I need a medical team in the morgue and I need them five minutes ago!" The coroner demanded into the telephones receiver.

"What are you talking about?" Came the belittling response of an over paid and under worked security guard.

"Move your fat ass and dispatch that team!"

...

Elisa wailed, she sobbed uncontrollably as Goliath held her hand and fleetingly tried to consol the inconsolable.

Maggie was eerily dead panned as she delivered the news of Talons death, though her eyes were red and swollen with tears. She sat limp at the foot of Elisa's hospital bed in a fog, she barely blinked even when a completely hysterical doctor burst through the door, his face as white as death.

The wide eyed physician mumbled incoherently more to himself then the rooms occupants.

"What do you want?" Elisa choked out after a lengthy awkward silence.

"He's alive." It sounded more like a question rather then a statement.

"Who?" Goliath urged him on with frustration.

"He... He just... Came back to life. He was dead!" The doctor stammered on.

Elisa was running short on patience and, given the sudden revelation, high on hope. "God damn it, who are you talking about!" She shrieked, slamming her fists on either side of herself.

"Brooklyn" A squeak of a voice cut through the room and Maggie stood to stare the befuddled doctor down. "It's Brooklyn, isn't it." She continued, still emotionally absent.

...

_He was actually just a med student, one of my quote un-quote specialists relayed the anecdote to me. He said after seeing my miraculous resurrection, the kid dropped out of school and took off to enter the priest hood. _

_Sometimes I wonder if I should go find the kid and try to make him understand that my being alive, technically speaking anyway, is anything but miraculous. _

_Anyway, the next couple of months are pretty foggy, but I do remember some of it. Like the "specialists" insisting that there was no way I would ever come out of the coma and the brain activity being recorded was just misfiring neurons... Good call. _

_I remember people talking to me, sometimes I could tell who it was, sometimes I couldn't, regardless, I appreciated it. _

_And, I remember music._

_..._

August 13th, 2010

Maggie knocked so lightly on the door it was almost inaudible, but Lexington's expert hearing picked up the tapping and he conveyed his consent for her to enter from his seat.

"Hey." He mumbled without looking up.

"Hello." She breathed in response. "How is he, any change?"

Lexington shrugged in mild frustration. "You mean in the last twelve hours?"

"It only takes a second to open your eyes." She sneered back, equally annoyed, moving to stand at the head of his bed and gingerly brushing a stray strand of silvery hair from Brooklyns eyes. "His hair's growing back pretty fast."

"Yeah, his scars are healing too, he looks better every day." Lex relented as he sunk into his chair with a heavy sigh. "You're so lucky."

"What?" Maggie's eyes widened.

"You got to talk to him, you were the last person to talk to him. What did he say?"

Maggie nodded in understanding and pulled up a chair, sitting opposite Lex. "They told him that they had killed you and Broadway. You should have seen the way his face lit up when he found out you were alive."

A slight smile pulled at the corners of Lexington's mouth, but it disappeared as quickly as it came. "His face..." He muttered under his breath.

"I know, believe me, I know. But it's still him and as weird as it may be to you, just imagine how he feels."

"Yeah, I guess you've got some experience with this... How are you doing?"

She sighed, not really sure how to answer. Elisa had insisted that she attend Talon's memorial service though she thought it would be awkward for the rest of their family. "I think... it's a little easier for me because I was there, I saw what happened to him and... It's hard to explain."

Lexington interpreted her reluctance as a sign that she didn't want to talk about it and decided to let it go. Though, he still thought her behavior was very strange, even cold for someone who'd just lost their mate. It was expected of a widowed gargoyle to grieve openly for as long a few years after the loss of a lover. But, he had to remind himself, Maggie wasn't a gargoyle.

Rather then force more awkward conversation, Lex opted to turn up the stereo that he'd set up for Brooklyn to listen to nearly twenty four hours a day. It drove the medical staff out of their minds but, he figured, the hell with them, they were being paid well enough for little work.

A soothing melody filled the room and drowned out the incessant beeping of the heart monitor much to Maggie, Lex and, though they had no way of knowing, Brooklyns delight.

_**Flesh wound, flesh wound  
With medication it will fadeShould I assume that someone hears me when I pray  
Love full of hate  
Don't you love how I break?**_

**_Don't let them throw me away_**  
**_Ah!_**  
**_Keep me and I'll be okay_**  
**_Ah!_**  
**_Skipping a beat but it plays_**  
**_Ah!_**  
**_Don't let them throw me away_**  
**_Ah!_**  
**_Don't let them throw me away_**

**_Screwed up, used up_**  
**_Crumble lying on the floor_**  
**_Fucked up, shut up_**  
**_All you did back then was score_**  
**_I'm feeling weak_**  
**_Missing parts_**  
**_Incomplete_**

_**Don't let them throw me away  
Ah!  
Keep me and I'll be okay  
Ah!  
Skipping a beat but it plays  
Ah!  
Don't let them throw me away  
Ah!  
Don't let them throw me away**_

_**Hold me up into the light**_  
_**Fix the cracks and fix them right**_  
_**Keep the pieces in the drawer**_  
_**Keep them there forever more**_  
_**May come in use for someday**_  
_**Recycle this shit in someway**_  
_**And all that I have to say**_  
_**Don't let them throw me away**_

_**Don't let them throw me away  
Ah!Keep me and I'll be okay  
Ah!  
Skipping a beat but it plays  
Ah!  
Don't let them throw me away  
Ah!  
Don't let them throw me away**_

_**...**_

_I know what you're thinking, I've heard it a thousand times now. It's over, I'm free, I should be great full and move on. But that's the problem, it's not over! I'm still right in the middle of it! I don't expect you to understand, shit, I wouldn't want you to. But I do want you to know this; I didn't survive in the traditional sense, I didn't beat death, I was rejected by it... and sent back as something else. _

TBC...

*Song Credit: Korn - Throw Me Away*


	18. Chapter 17 Part 2

Coming Undone

Chapter 17 (Part 2)

By Ariesjade

Disclaimer: Props to Greg Weisman

Authors note: Holy crap, that took a long time! I must have rewritten this chapter about 15 times... Hopefully, this version is to your liking. It's quit tame in comparison to the rest of the story, I know. But fear not my loyal gore lovers, this is just a prelude to bigger and better things.

...

_I've been seeing things lately, ghosts, hallucinations, both, I don't know._

July 17th, 2010.

Her obsession grew a little bit each day, this betrayal could not go unpunished. the fact that he was stolen right out from underneath her was maddening, how could she have allowed herself to be duped in such a way? And to still have no evidence of who was to blame after all her efforts was even more infuriating. But she was nothing if not patient, the one responsible would have to come out the wood work sooner or later. After all, they didn't go to all the trouble of sabotaging her kidnapping just to kill him. No, there had to be a fairly significant reason and that such reason couldn't elude her forever. She could wait another one thousand years if need be.

Demona soared majestically over the city scape, lost in her thoughts, hoping the warm summer breeze might just calm her mind enough to allow the answers to break through her suffocating rage. Though the truth she was seeking still remained hidden, this was still a much needed relaxing pass time, it was only in moments like these that her tightly wound body and mind would allow the oxygen to pass though so easily.

It was only the moment a cold snake slithered around her outstretched ankle that the mantra flashed through her tormented cerebral "Damn, when will you learn; never let your guard down?" Of course, it was far to late for her self reprimand to make the slightest difference as she was ripped out of the sky and sent crashing into the sharp layout of a gravel paved rooftop. Her flesh tore deep down to the bone as she tumbled across the harsh texture, finally coming to abrupt stop when her skull collided with the corner of a metal air vent that protruded the buildings top. Blood erupted from her dented scalp and she flopped to the gravel like a rag doll.

The last image to invade her red hazed vision was that of a metallic gargoyle closing in on her, silent as the grave.

_..._

August 15, 2010

_**"The gruesome scene behind tells it's own story, this evening. Alcatraz Island, once a great and feared prison, a powerful structure that housed some of worlds most brutal killers, now reduced to smoldering rubble. A black patch hovering in the middle of the otherwise scenic San Francisco bay.  
It's been over one month since the destructions of the famous landmark and officials are still recovering bodies. Mass graves have been uncovered as well feet, arms and other body parts are continuing to wash ashore, bringing the death toll, although exact figures still cannot be substantiated, to the low hundreds"**_

The flickering of the television shot through the dark room like a strobe light, illuminating the rooms occupants in half second intervals and making the shadows seem to come the life.

"I don't know why you insist on watching every news show on all five hundred channels, they're all just saying the same thing over and over." Broadway whined, his prominent jaw fixed squarely in his pudgy palm.

"Maybe because our brother is fighting for his life and, as far as I know, what happened on Alcatraz had something to do with it!" Lexington replied, an overblown sarcastic drawl taking over for his usual chipper tone in an attempt to make completely clear how disgusted he was over such an utterly stupid comment.

"Yeah, I get that." Broadway huffed back. "But those reporters don't know anymore about what went on there then we do, only Brooklyn does."

"If all your gonna do is bitch and moan then piss off!" Lexington snapped.

"Enough!" Goliath marched into the room. "Bickering amongst each other isn't going to solve anything."

"Indeed." Xanatos chimed in. "Besides, Doctor Taylor has requested a meeting. Maybe he'll have the information you're looking for, Lexington."

...

_There's nothing more unnerving then glancing into the mirror as you pass by, no real intent behind the quick look, and seeing a stranger staring back at you._

...

"Miss Reed, I need you to relay every detail that you can recall from the escape."

Maggie shifted uncomfortably, the memories were disturbing to say the least, but it was the man sitting across from her asking the question that really made her uneasy. He reminded her of one of those eerily angelic statues that glared at you usually found in old cemeteries.

"What does this have to do with Brooklyn's recovery?" She countered.

...

Xanatos glided through the office doorway fallowed in turn by the Wyvern clan in it's entirety save Brooklyn, of course.

"Doctor Taylor" He acknowledged with a slight nod. The clan remained skeptically quiet.

"Mister Xanatos, Goliath. Please, have a seat." Taylor greeted them but didn't wait for anyone to accept the offered chairs before continuing. "We've come across some interesting findings... Uh, let's see here." He shuffled through the impressive pile of paperwork that littered his desk. "You all recall how all initial blood work came back inconclusive? Well, I took the liberty of sending some samples off to a trusted colligue in Switzerland. He's a brilliant scientist and geneticist, as well as my mentor, I knew that if anyone could shed some light on this mystery it would be him."

Elisa rolled her eyes at the doctor's drawn out explanation.

...

"It's crucial that we conduct a thorough investigation into Brooklyn's behavioral patterns on the night in question given what we've recently discovered and you were the last... ahem... person to have contact with him before the explosion that landed him in his present state. Now, did he display any overtly violent or aggressive behaviors while you were with him?"

Warped visions of men being literally torn apart, of Sevarious' mangled body disintegrating into a puddle of human fluid, of Talon and all those other unfortunate creatures' bodies lying lifeless and bloody on the floor. Maggie shivered as she could almost feel Brooklyn's breath on her neck and once again hear his soft growl of a voice encouraging her to destroy that metal monster that was responsible for it all.

But, could any of that be considered _overtly violent or aggressive? _He had endured nearly five years of shear hell under the evil eyes of those maniacs and she was all too familiar with what Sevarious was capable of. She'd only been held trapped with him for a couple of weeks and she'd come very close to total insanity herself.

"No." She stated blankly, her gaze never faltering. "He saved my life."

Taylor sighed and rapidly blinked his eyes. "I understand that you may feel an obligation to protect him under the circumstances, but you must understand as well..."

"I said no."

...

"Trioxin is an extremely dangerous experimental drug that was developed to, in effect, reverse paralysis, it was designed to re grow tissues, repair nerve damage, even encourage post developmental bone growth and it worked. However, the side effects were so damaging that the whole project was scrapped back in the 1980's." Taylor explained.

"And this trioxin was presumably found in Brooklyn's system?" Xanatos enthusiastically piped in.

"Correct, along with an unknown cocktail of chemicals also generally used for genetic alterations. This may explain how Brooklyn was able to survive such physical trauma."

"So, what does this mean?" Lexington asked genuinely confused.

"Well, we're not sure, to be honest. It's the side effects that I'm most concerned about at the moment."

"And those would be?" Elisa impatiently prompted the doctor to elaborate.

Taylor took a deep breath and leaned forward in his chair. "Instant death was the most prominent, but in the instance of survival, violent, aggressive and unpredictable behavior, criminal tendencies and insanity." He spoke bluntly. "These effects were reported in one hundred percent of the test subjects and usually showed first signs within seventy two hours of injection."

"But that doesn't make any sense, Maggie said Brooklyn was still basically himself as far as she could tell." Lex was quick to the defense.

"Yes, I spoke with Miss Reed about an hour before calling you all here and she maintains that he showed no warning signs which is reason to be optimistic. But there are many factors to consider here. For instance, a timeline for when the injections were given, the effects of the unknown chemicals that were also injected, being that he is a gargoyle and all previous test subjects were either animal or human, his biological response in general, the list go's on."

"So, what do we do now?" Goliath finally made his presence known.

"We wait, more tests are in progress and continue observation."

So, basically what you're saying here is... You still can't really tell us anything." Elisa huffed with a second roll of the eyes.

Doctor Taylor glared at her, jaw agape.

...

_No matter the species, the most basic of instincts can always be narrowed down to simple survival. But, of course, there's an exception to every rule. Those of us who have tasted death, experienced euphoria, everything becomes so clear. See, death crushes your fear but heightens all of your other senses... A dangerous combination at best. _

...

The harsh light that cascaded down around him stung his eyes as they forcibly flickered open and his heart sank when he heard an unknown voice shatter the silence.

"He's coming to."

His rage came to a boiling point instantaneously, to come so close to freedom only to find himself right back at the beginning. Not again, not this time, no survivors.

TBC


	19. Chapter 17 Part 3

Coming Undone

Chapter 17 (Part 3)

By Pandora Black (the artist formally known as ariesjade)

Disclaimer is disclaiming.

Authors note: I want to thank everyone for all the much loved praise. You guys rule! Sorry it's been so long between updates, to make a long story short; life's been hectic.

...

_How the hell was I supposed to know?_

...

August 15th, 2010

Agonizing, torturous rage. Searing hatred and brutal violence was all he could possibly comprehend when his eyes came into focus to find himself there. A gurney in a white, sterile room, no familiar faces to welcome him back, no sing song voices to express joy at his return, only nameless, cold and calculating doctors to continue the torment he thought he'd finally left behind in his darkest memories.

The conclusion was obvious in his distressed mind, kill or die.

Something small and cold gingerly touched his chest in sighting a violent shudder to pass through him preceded by a blood curtailing warning growl.

The man at the other end of the stethoscope visibly twitched at the sound and took a cautious step back. He shifted his eyes to the fearfully frozen nurse who stood clutching a clip board to her chest protectively.

"Nurse, will you call the office please..." His wide eyes traveled back to the patient who struggled valiantly to regain control over his own body. He watched silently as Brooklyn writhed around his uncomfortable hospital bed, frustration obvious in his features. "It might be safer to restrain him for the time being as well." He declared though his nurse was already well out of hearing distance.

Brooklyn, however, heard every syllable. It seemed the angrier he became the faster his strength returned. He ripped the oxygen mask from his face then tore the IV that punctured his arm away with enough force to rupture the vein it was attached to.

The doctor jumped another few steps back and cautiously tried to calm his patient. "Br.. Brooklyn, just relax. You're gonna hurt yourself." He stammered.

"Hurt myself?" He slurred angrily as he viciously shoved himself from the custom hospital bed. "You've gotta be fucking kidding me!"

"Listen, you're disoriented and confused..."

"I'm not confused!" The blurry image of a frightened human that took far too long to process said otherwise, but Brooklyn wasn't about to show any signs of weakness willingly. The lack of control he knew his body was exhibiting was bad enough. "I know exactly what's going on..."

The sounds of hurried footsteps echoing from just outside the room distracted him from the pointless argument and a desperate sense of urgency pounded through his veins. No sooner did the door burst open then did Brooklyn have a deadly grasp on his doctors shoulders, blood spurting from beneath his razor like claws.

"Release him!" Roared one of the six guards that had been dispatched by the nervous doctor Taylor upon learning of Brooklyn's consciousness.

Wordlessly, Brooklyn hoisted his hostage into the air and hurled him in the direction of the supposed threat. The combined weight of the doctor himself and Brooklyns powerful thrust effectively toppled all six guards to the floor like a bowling ball through pins.

He crouched to lunge through the now free and clear doorway but nearly fell backwards when a sudden wave of dizziness took hold of him.

"Brooklyn!"

He knew the voice, but inexplicably couldn't put a face to it. His vision clouded over, it was all too much.

"Get away from me!" He begged more then ordered, his eyes rolling to the back of his head, his knees buckling. Instinctively swiping at the air with talons, tail, anything that could cause damage.

Something caught his wrist, infusing him with a fresh rush of fear and desperation. With one final burst of strength before falling back into the darkness, a deadly claw hit it's mark.

...

"That's how I ended up here, locked away by my own supposed family. Straight back into prison." He glared at the neighboring cells occupant through broken eyes. "Not even Maggie believes me anymore, after everything I did for her."

Brooklyns solo audience listened intently to the horrendous tale, her intense eyes never wavering from his every move.

"Brooklyn." She whispered. "If anybody could understand what you've been through, what you're feeling, it would be me."

He sighed and forcefully raked his claws through his silvery mane but remained silent, considering her words. She had listened to him, sympathized with him, she even seemed excited to see that he was alive when she first arrived four days ago, which was far warmer of a welcome then he received from his alleged clan. And it had been so very long since he'd been able to talk with someone, have a real civil conversation and simply unburden himself.

Still, it was _her_. The situation was beyond confusing.

"Alright, I think I've given you all the answers you need. Now what's your story?" He demanded gruffly, wanting his distrust to be known.

"Well, I'm not sure to be honest."

"Honest?" Brooklyn blatantly mocked her chosen words.

"Honest." Goliath echoed as he made his way down the hall of cells contained deep in the labyrinth. "She was unconscious, lying in a pool of her own blood when we found her."

"A rescue worthy of Helen of troy." She sneared.

"You're telling me." Brooklyn sighed.

"Brooklyn, you are dangerous whether you know it or not. It's not your fault, but..."

"But bullshit! I was brought back from the dead by a bunch of fucking strangers, none of you were there!"

Goliath's stone demeanor faltered for only a moment. "Doctor Taylor has just arrived, will you come willingly this time or must we undergo another... episode." He asked in earnest.

Brooklyn rolled his inexplicably blue eyes and snorted. "Sure, I love doctors and I could never get sick of being treated like a pin cushion." The sarcasm was heavily overemphasized.

"A necessary evil." Goliath replied solemnly as he unlocked his once second's cell.

Brooklyn plastered a ridiculously fake smile across his scarred face and begrudgingly took his place at Goliaths side. The two marched down the hall in succession and silence, Goliaths massive claws wrapped firmly around Brooklyns arm more for show then an actual attempt at control.

"I don't like this." Goliath admitted once clear of the quote unquote cellblock.

"Neither do I." Brooklyn replied flatly.

...

Demona paced her cell, fidgeting nervously. Her thoughts in complete turmoil, her stomach in knots. She had never before felt so unsure of herself, such terror, guilty.


	20. Chapter 20

Coming Undone

Chapter 18

By Pandora Black

Disclaimer: Consider yourself disclaimed.

Author's note: Ok, I admit, I suck at deadlines. This was sort of an involuntary hiatus. But I'm back and feeling frisky, so enjoy the madness! *Reposted to fix an oopsie*

Oct. 16, 2010

Sharp, piercing shrieks engulfed the silence that ruled the labyrinth only seconds before and the daily routine began again.

Brooklyn looked on from the solitary of his new cell, head cocked to one side, lips loosely parted, hypnotized by the miraculous transformation. Somewhere, deep in the twisted recesses of his bitter mind, he laughed maniacally at the sight of her suffering, though outwardly, he remained completely still and emotionless.

Her vibrant blue skin faded to a pale peach and her demonic wings receded into her back accompanied by the sickening opera of bones crushing into themselves. She shrunk to the ground into a pathetic heap of shuttering, weak flesh and as the show came to a close, Brooklyn couldn't resist the perfection of such an opportunity.

"Karma's a bitch."

"If that's the case..." She retorted with malice. "Then perhaps you should look in the mirror and ask yourself what atrocious sin it was that _you_ are now paying for."

He sneared in reply, never letting on that he had in fact pleaded for the answer to that question on countless occasions.

"Maybe it's your way with people." A gruff and mildly annoying voice shattered the tension and replaced that with a simple contempt.

"Shut your deformed face before I make you swallow your own head." Brooklyn replied without so much as an upward glance.

"_Deformed face_?" The outcasted mutate mockingly repeated. "I'll take that as a compliment coming from you!"

Brooklyn sighed heavily and forced himself to his feet. He was well aware of the fact that his idiot cell mate was merely bored and seeking attention but, truth be told, he was reaching a nearly unbearable level of cabin fever himself. Patience was never one of his strong suits anyway.

He strode up to the clear acrylic wall that separated him from the beastly buffoon, who had pressed himself up against the Plexiglas and proceeded to make ridiculous faces and obscene gestures that were exaggerated by the invisible wall, and smirked.

Fang was too busy making an ass out of himself to foresee the fist speeding towards the glass - and his smothered face on the other side there of.

The impact verberated through, and was in fact enhanced by the glass. The brutal sting of a broken nose shot Fang back straight onto his tail bone, leaving only smeared streaks of blood slowly gliding down the wall in his wake.

He snorted and groaned while glaring through tear smudged eyes at the obvious winner of this round.

"Finished?" Brooklyn inquired. Fang's middle talon shot up to salute the victor in response. "Same to you, sunshine." Brooklyn quipped as he turned to slump himself back down on his bunk. He couldn't suppress the giggle that escaped his lungs when the lyrics to _Stuck in the Middle With You_ suddenly popped into his head.

"If you two are quite finished with your little game of wits, Brooklyn, don't you suppose we should discus how we are going to get free?" Demona spat out irritably.

"_We_?" Brooklyn raised an eye ridge.

"Don't even start Demona." Elisa's stern, authorative voice abruptly ended the conversation before it had started.

"Elisa!" Brooklyn volted from his bed and pressed the entire length of his body up against the cell bars. This was the first time he'd laid eyes on her since his abduction and he was genuinely excited. So much so that he forgot himself in that moment. She knew him, the real him. She was his confidante and would never judge. Surely, if someone as twisted as Demona could understand his actions under such circumstances, she would too. "Elisa, let me outta here."

"I can't do that Brook. I'm sorry." She shook her head solemnly.

"Why?" He begged. Utter disbelief etched across his face.

"You know why." Her normal, unwavering tone gave way to a meek, shaky squeak of a sound. "Lexington."

"It was an accident!" Brooklyn cut her off in desperation. The hazy memory of Lexington calling his name in his custom built hospital room inside the eerie building. How could he not know it was his little brother trying to ease his terror. Even still, how could he do so much damage when he was only half conscious? But Lexington was alright, or at least, he would be. Brooklyn took a deep calming breath.

"If I could just talk to Lex..."

"Please don't make this harder then it already is." Elisa interrupted.

"What do you mean?" He blinked in confusion.

"I came here to say I... We all love you and we miss you so much."

"So let me out." He protested. "Let me come home, we can chock this whole wrong full imprisonment thing up to nerves."

Elisa smiled sadly at her friends attempt at levity, but the tears still flowed freely. "You don't understand." She continued. "Your test results came back. I wanted to come see you as soon as you were awake but, Goliath said they had to be sure first and..." Elisa became more hysterical with every word. Brooklyn had never seen her so vulnerable. His heart was breaking right along with hers and he still didn't know why.

He reached a sympathetic hand through the cell bars to try to comfort her, but she flinched at feeling his touch. Brooklyn's arm fell limp at her actions and he frowned deeply.

"Sorry." Elisa whispered as she composed herself once more. "I decided that I had to come here tonight, whether Goliath approved or not, to tell you how much you mean to us... While you can still understand what I'm saying... While you still know who I am." She sobbed.

"What the hell are you talking about?" He forced the words breathlessly.

Elisa inhaled sharply. "Doctor Taylor says, according to the test results... You're dying... I mean..." She sighed in frustration. But Brooklyn had heard enough regardless.

"That's ridiculous, I've 'died' five times in the past year alone!" He wasn't exaggerating.

"Your brain is deteriorating." Elisa stated bluntly, cutting off his rant. "But your body is... It just won't stop! Brooklyn, you'll become one of them." She choked on her own voice and relapsed into a state of hysterics.

"One of them?" Brooklyn questioned. _One of them_ repeated over and over in his mind like a mantra. Suddenly, realization shot through him like that of a bolt of lightning. And with that revelation, he knew he should feel fear, dread, depression. But none of the above even nagged at his emotional state. The rage, however, the ever present rage was right on cue.

The gleam that appeared in his eye at the sight of Elisa, faded into oblivion to be replaced by the demonic glare of the condemned. He paced his cell like a caged animal, lips tightly pursed, taloned fists clenched so tightly that blood dribbled from between his fingers.

"So, what then?" He growled. "You're just gonna leave me in here to rot!" His voice boomed. "Or are you just going to flat out fucking kill me to relieve your own suffering?"

Elisa sniffled and, against her better judgement, or perhaps, against her will, threw herself against the bars. "Oh god, please understand!" She wailed. "There's nothing more we can do. The experiments Sevarious conducted on you were just that; experiments. There's no way of knowing how to reverse the process when we don't know what the process was."

Despite his close friend's plea's, Brooklyn's defensive, infuriated stance remained unchanged. In fact, her feeble attempts at an explanation only served to fuel the fire burning inside him. Without giving it a second thought, his decision was made. He would not spend another minute of what was left of his bullshit life locked up and he sure as hell didn't survive this long to be taken out now.

Brooklyn lunged at Elisa swung his massive arm through the bars and around her torso, pinning her to him. He used his other hand to effectively silence her cries.

Elisa froze, shock paralyzed her body while she mentally cursed herself for allowing herself to be captured so effortlessly.

"That's quite a show of sorrow you're putting on, human." He snarled into her ear. "But frankly, I've seen enough. So if you're not going to help me, then you all can go to hell. I'll do it alone just like I have for the past five years. Now, for the last time, let me the fuck out!"

"How am I supposed to do that with you holding me here?" She mumbled from under his clawed hand.

"Brooklyn! No!" A phantom voice echoed through the halls.

"Excellent timing, Maggie." Brooklyn's praise was genuine yet ominous. Maggie's eyes grew wide with awe as she watched his hand move from Elisa's mouth to wrap around her neck in a menacing gesture. "Release the cell locks." He ordered casually.

"Maggie don..." Elisa gasped for air as Brooklyn's grip tightened around her throat.

"That was a warning." He growled then turned his attention back to the frightened mutate down the hall. "Move it!"

She did so without question, knowing what he was capable of. Though, even after what she'd seen at his side on Alcatraz, this was still a shock.

The locks released with a hiss, Demona leapt forth with a glee full smile etched across her normally miserable face. Fang bounded from his prison as well and took off at full speed. He had no interest in being around to see the outcome of this game.

Lastly, Brooklyn slowly made his way out of his cell, keeping a tight clutch hold of Elisa's hair. Once he'd cleared the bars, he thoughtlessly tossed her backwards into his hated cage and slammed the barred door shut.

Maggie collapsed to the floor, a whimpering mess as Brooklyn stared her down.

"Brooklyn, come with me." Demona ordered, distracting him only momentarily.

He stalked towards the cowering feline human cross and knelt down in front of her.

"Brooklyn, hurry! I can help you." Demona frantically barked.

"Just one second." He replied simply, lifting Maggie's chin to face him, tears streaking down her golden face. "Don't worry, you'll see me again real soon." His scarred lips brushed lightly against hers as he whispered his deadly promise, then traveled along her jaw line to just below her ear where he placed an almost tender kiss to seal his vow.

Demona urged Brooklyn to join her one last time. He fallowed her without further protest, leaving Maggie and Elisa alone with their thoughts.


End file.
